CVE-2023-6197
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 · uneditedThe Audio Merchant plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in all versions up to, and including, 5.0.4. This is due to missing or incorrect nonce validation on the audio_merchant_save_settings function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to modify the plugin's settings and inject malicious web scripts via a forged request granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking on a link.
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 Audio Merchant WordPress plugin (versions up to 5.0.4) lacks proper nonce validation on the audio_merchant_save_settings function, allowing unauthenticated attackers to forge administrative requests. By tricking a logged-in administrator into clicking a malicious link, attackers can modify plugin settings and inject persistent malicious scripts (stored XSS).
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<= 5.0.4CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm plugin installation and versionNavigate to WordPress admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins. Look for 'Audio Merchant' or 'Myaudiomerchant Audio Merchant' and note the version number displayed. Alternatively, check the plugin's main PHP file header or readme.txt for the Version field.Affected if The plugin is installed and the version is 5.0.4 or lower.
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Locate the vulnerable save_settings functionAccess the WordPress site files via FTP or file manager. Navigate to /wp-content/plugins/audio-merchant/ (or similar path). Open the main plugin file and search for 'audio_merchant_save_settings' or 'save_settings'.Affected if The function exists in the plugin code, indicating the vulnerable feature is present.
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Check for nonce validation in save_settingsWithin the plugin file containing audio_merchant_save_settings, examine the function definition. Look for wp_verify_nonce, check_admin_referer, or similar nonce verification calls at the beginning of the function.Affected if No nonce verification is found, or the check is missing entirely before processing settings.
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Inspect stored plugin settings for malicious contentAccess the WordPress database (via phpMyAdmin or command line). Query the wp_options table: SELECT * FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE '%audio_merchant%'. Review the option_value fields for script tags, iframe tags, event handlers (onload, onerror), or encoded JavaScript.Affected if Stored settings contain suspicious HTML tags such as <script>, <iframe>, or JavaScript event handlers that were not intentionally configured by an administrator.
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Review access control on AJAX endpointsCheck the plugin for wp_ajax_ and wp_ajax_nopriv_ hooks registration. Look for calls registering 'audio_merchant_save_settings' or similar actions. Determine if nopriv users can trigger the settings save.Affected if The settings save action is hooked to wp_ajax_nopriv_ or lacks capability checks, allowing unauthenticated requests.
A user is affected if the Audio Merchant plugin version is 5.0.4 or lower AND the save_settings function lacks nonce verification, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts into plugin settings.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpdate to version 5.0.5 or later which implements proper nonce validation. Until patched, warn administrators against clicking untrusted links and consider temporarily disabling the plugin if high-risk.
Latest version of Audio Merchant plugin (version > 5.0.4)
- Check the current version of the Audio Merchant plugin installed on your WordPress site
- Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins in the WordPress admin dashboard
- Locate Audio Merchant in the plugin list and verify the current version number
- If the installed version is 5.0.4 or lower, update the plugin to the latest available version
- To update: either click 'Update Now' if an update is available, or manually download the latest version from wordpress.org and upload via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
- After updating, verify the plugin settings have not been tampered with and review for any unexpected malicious configurations
- Consider implementing additional CSRF protections at the server level (e.g., WordPress nonce verification best practices)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-6197 — 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-2023-6197 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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- 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