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Code InjectionWeakness · CWE-94

CVE-2024-12419

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
74/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 The Design for Contact Form 7 Style WordPress Plugin – CF7 WOW Styler plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to, and including, 1.7.0. This is due to the software allowing users to execute an action that does not properly validate a value before running do_shortcode. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary shortcodes. This functionality is also vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting. Version 1.7.0 patched the Reflected XSS issue, however, the arbitrary shortcode execution issue remains.

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 CF7 WOW Styler WordPress plugin fails to properly validate user input before passing it to do_shortcode(), allowing unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary shortcodes. This enables attackers to potentially invoke any registered WordPress shortcode, which in many cases can lead to sensitive data exposure or further compromise.

MitigationDisable or remove the CF7 WOW Styler plugin until an official patch is available; implement WAF rules to block requests containing arbitrary shortcode parameters, and audit for any malicious shortcode executions already attempted.

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
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 checks

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

  1. Verify CF7 WOW Styler plugin is installed
    Navigate to WordPress admin > Plugins and look for 'CF7 WOW Styler' in the installed plugins list, or inspect the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for a folder containing 'cf7-wow-styler' or similar naming
    Affected if The plugin appears in the installed plugins list regardless of activation status
  2. Check plugin version
    In WordPress admin > Plugins > CF7 WOW Styler, view the plugin details to see the installed version number; alternatively, check the main plugin PHP file header for the Version field
    Affected if Any version is installed - the specific vulnerable version range was not provided in the CVE data
  3. Confirm plugin is active
    In WordPress admin > Plugins, verify whether CF7 WOW Styler is activated; an inactive plugin may still have vulnerable code present
    Affected if The plugin is currently activated on the WordPress site
  4. Inspect for shortcode injection attempts
    Review web server access logs (Apache/Nginx) and WordPress debug logs for unusual do_shortcode() calls, unusual URL parameters containing shortcode syntax like [ or ], or requests to endpoints known to process shortcodes
    Affected if Log entries show unexpected shortcode patterns, especially from unauthenticated IP addresses or unusual user-agents
  5. Check for unauthorized shortcode execution results
    Search the database (wp_posts table) for recent posts/pages containing unfamiliar shortcode tags, or check site content for unexpected form submissions, data leaks, or modified settings that could result from shortcode abuse
    Affected if New or modified content contains shortcodes not authored by legitimate administrators

If the CF7 WOW Styler plugin is installed and active, the vulnerability is likely present; definitive confirmation requires version comparison once the affected range is published or a security audit of the shortcode handling code.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Disable or remove the CF7 WOW Styler plugin until an official patch is available; implement WAF rules to block requests containing arbitrary shortcode parameters, and audit for any malicious shortcode executions already attempted.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,210
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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-2024-12419 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
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