CVE-2023-54352
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedWordPress Seotheme contains a remote code execution vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary PHP code by uploading malicious files to the theme directory. Attackers can access the uploaded PHP shell at /wp-content/themes/seotheme/mar.php to execute system commands and upload additional files for persistent access.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe Seotheme WordPress theme contains an unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability allowing attackers to upload arbitrary PHP files to the theme directory. The uploaded webshell is accessible at /wp-content/themes/seotheme/mar.php, enabling attackers to execute system commands and maintain persistent access.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm if Seotheme theme is installedInspect the /wp-content/themes/seotheme/ directory via FTP, file manager, or command line (ls -la /wp-content/themes/seotheme/). If the directory exists, the theme is present.Affected if The Seotheme theme directory exists in the WordPress installation.
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Check for the known backdoor file mar.phpLook for the file /wp-content/themes/seotheme/mar.php. This file should not exist in a clean installation. Use: ls -la /wp-content/themes/seotheme/mar.php or check via WordPress file manager.Affected if The file mar.php exists in the seotheme theme directory.
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Inspect theme directory for unexpected PHP filesList all PHP files in /wp-content/themes/seotheme/ and compare against expected theme files. Use: find /wp-content/themes/seotheme/ -name '*.php' -type f. Look for recently modified or unfamiliar PHP files.Affected if Unexpected or recently created PHP files are present in the theme directory.
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Check theme version if obtainableIf the theme has a style.css or theme.json file, check the version header. Look for version strings in theme files. Compare against any documented affected version ranges if known.Affected if The installed Seotheme version falls within an affected range.
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Review access logs for theme endpoint abuseCheck web server access logs for POST requests to /wp-content/themes/seotheme/ or any uploads to that path. Look for requests to mar.php from unfamiliar IPs.Affected if Log evidence shows unauthorized file uploads to the theme directory or suspicious requests to mar.php.
A user is affected if the Seotheme theme is installed and either the mar.php backdoor file exists, unexpected PHP files are present in the theme directory, or log evidence shows exploitation activity.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataImmediately remove or rename the /wp-content/themes/seotheme/mar.php file and disable the Seotheme theme. Conduct a forensic review to check for additional backdoors and restore from a clean backup if compromise is confirmed.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-54352 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-54352 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data