dbcve.org
Code InjectionWeakness · CWE-94

CVE-2024-4261

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
60/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 Responsive Contact Form Builder & Lead Generation Plugin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to, and including, 1.9.1. 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 authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, 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 Responsive Contact Form Builder & Lead Generation Plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution due to improper validation of user input before passing it to the do_shortcode() function. Authenticated users with subscriber-level access or higher can exploit this to execute arbitrary WordPress shortcodes, potentially accessing sensitive functionality or data.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to version 1.9.2 or later which includes proper input validation. Until then, consider restricting user permissions or temporarily disabling the affected functionality.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Confirm the plugin is installed
    Navigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Responsive Contact Form Builder & Lead Generation' or search for 'responsive-contact-form' in the plugins directory
    Affected if the plugin appears in the installed plugins list and is activated
  2. Identify the installed version
    Click on the plugin in the WordPress plugins list to view the version number displayed beneath the plugin name, or open the main plugin file (e.g., responsive-contact-form-builder/responsive-contact-form.php) and locate the 'Version' header in the plugin comments
    Affected if the version displayed is lower than the patched version (you must compare to official vulnerability disclosure for the exact threshold)
  3. Verify authenticated user access exists
    Go to WordPress admin > Users > All Users and review the user roles assigned. Check if any users have 'Subscriber', 'Contributor', 'Author', 'Editor', or 'Administrator' roles
    Affected if at least one user account with subscriber-level access or higher exists on the site (this is the minimum privilege required for exploitation)
  4. Inspect shortcode exposure
    Check if the plugin exposes any frontend forms or shortcodes (common patterns: [contact_form], [responsive_contact], [lead_form]). Visit a page containing these shortcodes while logged in as a low-privilege user to confirm the shortcode renders
    Affected if the plugin shortcodes render and are accessible to authenticated users with subscriber-level permissions

You are affected if the plugin is installed, the installed version is within the vulnerable range, and any subscriber-level or higher user account exists on the site.

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 1.9.2 or later which includes proper input validation. Until then, consider restricting user permissions or temporarily disabling the affected functionality.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Update to version 1.9.2 or later from the WordPress plugin repository

  1. Identify the plugin: Responsive Contact Form Builder & Lead Generation Plugin for WordPress
  2. Check the currently installed version of the plugin in WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. If the installed version is 1.9.1 or earlier, navigate to Plugins > Add New > Upload or use the WordPress plugin repository to update
  4. Update the plugin to the latest available version from the WordPress plugin repository
  5. Verify the update was successful and test that shortcode functionality still works as expected
  6. Ensure only trusted users (at least Editor-level) are granted permission to use the affected functionality

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

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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-2024-4261 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