LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2023-6958: WP Recipe Maker <= 9.1.0 - Authenticated(Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Shortcode

The WP Recipe Maker plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's shortcode(s) in all versions up to, and including, 9.1.0 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with contributor-level and above permissions to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.

MediumCVSS 6.4Not KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

A logged-in WordPress user with Contributor or higher rights could store script code through WP Recipe Maker shortcodes. The script would run when visitors open the affected page. This can expose user data or alter page content, but it requires an account with publishing-related access and affects plugin versions through 9.1.0.

Executive priority

Treat this as a moderate website integrity risk. Prioritize sites with many content contributors, public registration, agency access, or sensitive logged-in users. Patch during the next maintenance window, faster if Contributor accounts are broadly distributed.

Technical view

CWE-79 stored XSS in WP Recipe Maker <= 9.1.0 stems from insufficient sanitization and output escaping of user-supplied shortcode attributes. The CVSS 3.1 score is 6.4 with low attack complexity, low privileges required, changed scope, and limited confidentiality and integrity impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to WordPress sites using WP Recipe Maker versions up to and including 9.1.0 where Contributor-level or higher accounts can create or edit content containing plugin shortcodes.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Abuse requires an authenticated Contributor-or-higher account and a page or post where malicious shortcode attributes can be stored and later rendered to other users.

Researcher notes

Focus validation on shortcode rendering paths and stored content authored by Contributor-level users. The available evidence identifies the vulnerable class and a WordPress Trac changeset, but does not provide exploit-in-the-wild confirmation or broader affected-product claims.

Mitigation direction

  • Update WP Recipe Maker to a vendor-supported version newer than 9.1.0.
  • Review vendor and WordPress plugin guidance for the fixed release details.
  • Restrict Contributor and higher roles to trusted users only.
  • Review recent recipe content and shortcode usage from lower-privileged authors.
  • Remove unexpected scripts, event handlers, or suspicious attributes from affected content.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory WordPress sites using WP Recipe Maker and record installed versions.
  • Confirm no production site runs WP Recipe Maker 9.1.0 or earlier.
  • Review pages and posts containing WP Recipe Maker shortcodes.
  • Check author permissions for accounts able to create or edit recipe content.
  • Verify the plugin includes the shortcode escaping changes referenced by WordPress Trac.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
4

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · medium confidence lookup

CWE-79: User-session and phishing behavior lookup

Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2023-6958 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
6.4 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
3Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
6.4CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N3.12.7Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

6.4Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2023-6958Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
brechtvdsWP Recipe Maker0unaffected
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-79

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-79 · source CWE mapping

Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs