Arconix ShortcodesWordPress extension · Tychesoftwares
CVE-2024-56242
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 · uneditedImproper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in tychesoftwares Arconix Shortcodes arconix-shortcodes allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Arconix Shortcodes: from n/a through <= 2.1.14.
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 confidenceA Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in the Arconix Shortcodes WordPress plugin. The plugin fails to properly sanitize user input within its shortcode functionality, allowing malicious JavaScript to be stored in the database and executed when other users view pages containing the injected shortcodes.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Arconix ShortcodesWordPress extension
< 2.1.5CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate Arconix Shortcodes plugin installationNavigate to wp-content/plugins/ directory and verify the arconix-shortcodes folder exists. Check the main plugin file (usually arconix-shortcodes.php) for the version number declared in the plugin header.Affected if The plugin is installed and the version number is below 2.1.5 (e.g., 2.1.4, 2.1.0, 1.x.x)
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Identify active shortcode usage in contentQuery the WordPress database: SELECT ID, post_title, post_content FROM wp_posts WHERE post_content LIKE '%[ac%' AND post_status = 'publish'; This finds published posts/pages using Arconix shortcodes.Affected if Published content contains Arconix shortcodes like [ac_button], [ac_box], [ac_toggle], etc.
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Inspect shortcode content for potential XSS payloadsExamine the post_content from the previous query manually. Look for shortcode attributes that may contain unsanitized user input, such as [ac_button link='javascript:alert(1)'] or [ac_box title='<script>']Affected if Shortcode attributes contain raw HTML, JavaScript protocols, or unescaped special characters that could execute in a browser.
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Review the plugin shortcode handler codeExamine the PHP file that registers the shortcode handlers (usually includes/shortcodes.php or similar). Check if the shortcode callback functions use sanitization functions like esc_html(), esc_attr(), or sanitize_text_field() when processing attributes.Affected if The shortcode callback code does NOT use proper sanitization functions and passes raw attribute values directly to output.
You are affected if Arconix Shortcodes version is below 2.1.5 AND shortcodes with user-supplied content are stored in published posts, as the lack of sanitization in the plugin code allows stored XSS execution.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped2.1.5
The vulnerability requires implementing proper input sanitization and output encoding (using WordPress functions like esc_html(), esc_attr(), and sanitize_text_field()) wherever user input is processed through the plugin's shortcodes.
Arconix Shortcodes version 2.1.5 or later (recommended: latest stable release)
- 1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
- 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- 3. Locate the Arconix Shortcodes plugin
- 4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to install the latest version
- 5. Alternatively, manually download the updated plugin from the WordPress plugin repository or the vendor
- 6. After updating, verify the plugin version is 2.1.5 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Arconix Shortcodes
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-56242 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-56242 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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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