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Slick Contact FormsWordPress extension · Leechesnutt

CVE-2023-5468

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.3.7 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 · unedited
The Slick Contact Forms plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via 'dcscf-link' shortcode in versions up to, and including, 1.3.7 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with contributor-level and above permissions to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.

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 confidence

The Slick Contact Forms WordPress plugin (versions ≤1.3.7) contains a stored XSS vulnerability in the 'dcscf-link' shortcode. Authenticated users with contributor-level or higher permissions can inject arbitrary JavaScript via unsanitized shortcode attributes. The plugin fails to properly sanitize input and escape output, causing the malicious script to persist and execute when other users access affected pages.

MitigationUpdate Slick Contact Forms to version 1.3.8 or later which implements proper input sanitization and output escaping on shortcode attributes. Until updated, restrict contributor-level permissions or audit existing pages for malicious shortcode usage.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Slick Contact FormsWordPress extension
Affected:<= 1.3.7

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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Slick Contact Forms plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Leechesnutt Slick Contact Forms' or 'Slick Contact Forms' in the list
    Affected if Plugin is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Check installed plugin version
    Click on the plugin in the Plugins list to view version details, or inspect the plugin header in /wp-content/plugins/slick-contact-forms/ or similar path
    Affected if Version number is 1.3.7 or lower
  3. Identify pages using the dcscf-link shortcode
    Search WordPress posts, pages, and custom post types for the string '[dcscf-link' using WP Admin search or database query on wp_posts table
    Affected if Any page or post contains the dcscf-link shortcode
  4. Audit user roles with contributor-level access
    Go to Users > All Users in WordPress admin and review the role column; check for any users with 'Contributor' role or higher who did not author the pages containing the shortcode
    Affected if Untrusted users with contributor-level permissions exist and have access to edit content containing the shortcode

You are affected if Slick Contact Forms version 1.3.7 or lower is installed AND the dcscf-link shortcode is present in any content, especially if untrusted users have contributor-level access.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.3.7
Interim mitigation

Update Slick Contact Forms to version 1.3.8 or later which implements proper input sanitization and output escaping on shortcode attributes. Until updated, restrict contributor-level permissions or audit existing pages for malicious shortcode usage.

Fix this in Slick Contact Forms Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-5468 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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