dbcve.org
Code InjectionWeakness · CWE-94

CVE-2024-4038

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-14
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 Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro plugin for WordPress for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to, and including, 5.3.1. This is due to the plugin for WordPress 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 Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce plugin (versions up to 5.3.1) contains an arbitrary shortcode execution vulnerability due to improper input validation before passing user-supplied values to do_shortcode(). This allows unauthenticated attackers to execute any registered WordPress shortcode.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to version 5.3.2 or later which includes proper input validation. Since arbitrary shortcode execution can lead to data exfiltration and privilege escalation, treat this as a high-priority patch despite the medium CVSS score.

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 plugin installation
    Check the WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for a folder related to 'back in stock notifier' or 'bis' for WooCommerce. Common folder names include 'back-in-stock-notifier-for-woocommerce' or similar.
    Affected if The plugin folder exists in the WordPress plugins directory
  2. Identify the installed version
    Open the main plugin file (typically the PHP file with the same name as the folder or readme.txt) and locate the 'Version:' header in the plugin comments. Compare this version number to 5.3.1 (vulnerable) and 5.3.2 (fixed).
    Affected if The reported version is 5.3.1 or lower (versions up to and including 5.3.1 are vulnerable)
  3. Verify the plugin is active
    In the WordPress admin dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins and confirm the Back In Stock Notifier plugin is activated.
    Affected if The plugin is activated and running on the site
  4. Check for user-facing input forms
    Inspect the storefront pages where back-in-stock notification forms appear (product pages, subscription forms). The vulnerability is triggered when user-supplied input is passed to do_shortcode() without validation.
    Affected if The plugin displays any front-end forms that accept user input and the plugin version is 5.3.1 or lower
  5. Review server access logs
    Examine HTTP access logs for unusual GET or POST requests to product pages that include shortcode-like parameters (such as 'shortcode=', 'code=', or unexpected query parameters) that may indicate exploitation attempts.
    Affected if Suspicious requests containing shortcode execution attempts are found in logs

The environment is affected if the Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce plugin is installed, active, and running version 5.3.1 or lower.

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 plugin to version 5.3.2 or later which includes proper input validation. Since arbitrary shortcode execution can lead to data exfiltration and privilege escalation, treat this as a high-priority patch despite the medium CVSS score.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Plugin version 5.3.2 or later (check WordPress plugin repository for latest stable release)

  1. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate 'The Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce' (also known as WooCommerce Waitlist Pro)
  4. Check the current version installed (should be 5.3.1 or below)
  5. Update the plugin to the latest available version from the WordPress plugin repository
  6. Verify the update completes successfully
  7. Confirm the new version is above 5.3.1
Caveat Review plugin changelog for any incompatible changes with your WooCommerce version before upgrading

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
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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-2024-4038 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
  • 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