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Arforms Form BuilderWordPress extension · Reputeinfosystems

CVE-2023-6828

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.5.8 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 Contact Form, Survey & Popup Form Plugin for WordPress – ARForms Form Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the ‘ arf_http_referrer_url’ parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.5.8 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers 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

Stored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability in the ARForms Form Builder WordPress plugin. The 'arf_http_referrer_url' parameter lacks proper input sanitization and output escaping, allowing unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious JavaScript that executes when users access injected pages.

MitigationUpdate to patched version when available. Until then, deploy WAF rules to block XSS payloads in the arf_http_referrer_url parameter and consider restricting form submissions at the web server level.

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
Arforms Form BuilderWordPress extension
Affected:<= 1.5.8

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Verify ARForms plugin is installed
    Check the WordPress plugins directory or access wp-admin > Plugins to see if 'ARForms Form Builder' or 'Arforms Form Builder' is listed as an installed plugin.
    Affected if ARForms Form Builder plugin is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Check installed ARForms version
    Navigate to WordPress admin > Plugins > ARForms Form Builder and view the plugin details to find the installed version number, or inspect the plugin main file header for the 'Version' tag.
    Affected if The installed version is 1.5.8 or any version below it
  3. Inspect HTTP referrer processing
    Review the plugin code for handling of the 'arf_http_referrer_url' parameter - check form submission handlers and storage routines in the plugin files to confirm this parameter is being saved to the database.
    Affected if The plugin processes and stores the arf_http_referrer_url parameter without sanitization
  4. Check for stored XSS in database
    Query the WordPress database (typically the wp_options table or form submission tables depending on plugin structure) for any records containing the arf_http_referrer_url field with suspicious script tags, iframe tags, or event handlers like onerror, onload.
    Affected if Database contains unsanitized JavaScript or HTML in records associated with arf_http_referrer_url

A user is affected if the ARForms Form Builder plugin version 1.5.8 or lower is installed and the arf_http_referrer_url parameter is being processed by the plugin.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.5.8
Interim mitigation

Update to patched version when available. Until then, deploy WAF rules to block XSS payloads in the arf_http_referrer_url parameter and consider restricting form submissions at the web server level.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Version higher than 1.5.8 (check WordPress plugin repository for latest stable release)

  1. 1. Update the ARForms Form Builder plugin to the latest available version from the WordPress plugin repository
  2. 2. Verify the update was successful by checking the installed version number
  3. 3. Test form submissions to ensure the plugin functions correctly after the update
  4. 4. Clear any caching plugins if used, to ensure the fixed code is served

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Arforms Form Builder Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-6828 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