dbcve.org
Code InjectionWeakness · CWE-94

CVE-2024-13806

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-01
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 Authors List plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to, and including, 2.0.6. 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 Authors List WordPress plugin up to version 2.0.6 fails to properly validate user input before passing it to WordPress's do_shortcode function. This allows unauthenticated attackers to inject and execute arbitrary shortcodes by supplying malicious values, potentially leading to information disclosure or further exploitation depending on what shortcodes are registered on the target site.

MitigationUpdate The Authors List plugin to version 2.0.7 or later where proper input validation has been implemented. Until then, consider disabling or removing the plugin if unnecessary.

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. Locate The Authors List plugin and identify its version
    Access the WordPress admin dashboard, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins, and find 'The Authors List' in the list. The version number is displayed below the plugin name. Alternatively, inspect the plugin's main PHP file in wp-content/plugins/ and look for the 'Version:' header comment.
    Affected if The installed version is 2.0.6 or lower (any version before 2.0.7)
  2. Verify the plugin is active
    In the WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins, confirm that 'The Authors List' shows as 'Active' rather than 'Inactive'.
    Affected if The plugin is currently active on the site
  3. Check if shortcode rendering is reachable via user input
    Identify any public-facing form, shortcode, or URL parameter that accepts user input and passes it to the plugin's output. Common vectors include widget areas, page templates, or direct URL parameters. Inspect the plugin code for calls to do_shortcode with unsanitized input from $_GET, $_POST, or request parameters.
    Affected if User-supplied input can reach the do_shortcode function without proper validation

The environment is affected if The Authors List plugin version 2.0.6 or lower is installed, active, and user-controlled input can reach the plugin's do_shortcode call.

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 Authors List plugin to version 2.0.7 or later where proper input validation has been implemented. Until then, consider disabling or removing the plugin if unnecessary.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Update to version 2.0.7 or later (check WordPress plugin repository for latest stable release)

  1. Log in to WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate 'The Authors List' plugin
  4. Check if the current version is 2.0.6 or earlier
  5. If vulnerable, click 'Update Now' to install the latest version
  6. Alternatively, navigate to Plugins > Add New > Upload to manually upload the updated plugin zip file from the WordPress plugin repository
  7. Verify the plugin has been updated to a version newer than 2.0.6 after updating
Caveat Minor plugin point releases typically do not introduce breaking changes; review plugin changelog if available

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,480
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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-2024-13806 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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