dbcve.org
Code InjectionWeakness · CWE-94

CVE-2024-13785

MEDIUM · 5.6 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
65/100
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 Contact Form, Survey, Quiz & Popup Form Builder – ARForms plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to, and including, 1.7.2. 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.

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 ARForms WordPress plugin fails to validate user input before passing it to WordPress's do_shortcode() function. This allows unauthenticated attackers to inject and execute arbitrary shortcodes. Since many WordPress shortcodes can expose sensitive data or execute PHP functions, this can lead to information disclosure or potentially remote code execution depending on what shortcodes are registered on the site.

MitigationUpdate the ARForms plugin to the latest version immediately. If no patched version is available, disable the plugin or implement WAF rules to block requests containing shortcode-related parameters.

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

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

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 (wp-content/plugins/) for the arforms folder, or view the installed plugins list in the WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins
    Affected if ARForms plugin is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Identify the installed ARForms version
    Open the main plugin file (typically arf.php or arforms.php in wp-content/plugins/arforms/) and locate the 'Version' header in the plugin comment block, or check the version defined in the plugin's main PHP file
    Affected if The version number cannot be determined or is older than the patched version
  3. Confirm shortcode functionality is accessible to unauthenticated users
    Review the ARForms plugin code for endpoints that process user-submitted data and pass it to do_shortcode() without validation. Look for forms or parameters that accept user input and subsequently trigger shortcode rendering, typically in files handling form submissions or front-end displays
    Affected if There exists a form or parameter reachable by unauthenticated users that passes unsanitized input to do_shortcode()
  4. Identify registered shortcodes that could be exploited
    Search the WordPress installation for active shortcode registrations (add_shortcode calls) in theme and plugin files, particularly those that expose sensitive data or execute PHP functions such as plugin-specific shortcodes, theme utility shortcodes, or other plugin shortcodes
    Affected if Shortcodes that leak information or execute PHP functions are registered and available for injection

The environment is affected if ARForms plugin is installed, the version is unpatched, and unauthenticated users can submit input that gets processed by do_shortcode() leading to arbitrary shortcode execution.

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

Update the ARForms plugin to the latest version immediately. If no patched version is available, disable the plugin or implement WAF rules to block requests containing shortcode-related parameters.

Recommended fix High confidence

Version 1.7.3 or latest available version

  1. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate the ARForms plugin (The Contact Form, Survey, Quiz & Popup Form Builder – ARForms)
  4. Check the current version installed (should be 1.7.2 or below)
  5. Update the plugin to the latest available version (1.7.3 or higher)
  6. Verify the update was successful and the plugin is functioning normally

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

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-2024-13785 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