dbcve.org
Hide LinksWordPress extension · Avovkdesign

CVE-2024-9578

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.4.2 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
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 Hide Links plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized shortcode execution due to do_shortcode being hooked through the comment_text filter in all versions up to and including 1.4.2. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary shortcodes available on the target site.

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 Hide Links WordPress plugin hooks do_shortcode() to the comment_text filter in versions up to 1.4.2, allowing unauthenticated attackers to inject and execute arbitrary shortcodes via comments. Since WordPress shortcodes can trigger various plugin/theme functions, this enables attackers to potentially access sensitive data or perform actions depending on what other shortcodes are registered on the site.

MitigationUpdate the Hide Links plugin to the latest version once available, or deactivate and remove the plugin until a patched version can be installed. Review registered shortcodes on the site for potential abuse.

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
Hide LinksWordPress extension
Affected:<= 1.4.2

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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. Verify Hide Links plugin is installed
    Check WordPress plugins directory or admin panel for the 'Hide Links' or 'Avovkdesign Hide Links' plugin
    Affected if Plugin files are present in the wp-content/plugins directory
  2. Confirm plugin version
    Review the plugin header in the main plugin file (usually hide-links.php or similar) to read the Version field
    Affected if Installed version is 1.4.2 or lower
  3. Confirm plugin is active
    Check WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins to verify the Hide Links plugin is activated
    Affected if Plugin is enabled and active on the site
  4. Verify comments are enabled
    Review WordPress discussion settings at Settings > Discussion, or attempt to submit a test comment on a post/page
    Affected if Comment posting is allowed on the site (unauthenticated comments are required for exploitation)
  5. Identify registered shortcodes
    Search codebase for add_shortcode() function calls to see what shortcodes are available on the site
    Affected if Shortcodes with sensitive or privileged functionality are registered (the impact depends on what shortcodes exist)

You are affected if the Hide Links plugin version 1.4.2 or lower is installed and active, and comments are enabled on your 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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.4.2
Interim mitigation

Update the Hide Links plugin to the latest version once available, or deactivate and remove the plugin until a patched version can be installed. Review registered shortcodes on the site for potential abuse.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

version 1.4.3 or later

  1. 1. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. 2. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. 3. Locate the 'Hide Links' plugin
  4. 4. Check if an update is available and update to the latest version (version 1.4.3 or later)
  5. 5. Alternatively, download the latest version from wordpress.org and upload via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin

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

Fix this in Hide Links Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

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-2024-9578 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