CVE-2026-18385 (GCVE-0-2026-18385)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-08-16 04:24 – Updated: 2026-08-16 04:24
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Title
Paid Membership Plugin, Ecommerce, User Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content <= 4.16.19 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary Shortcode Execution via First Name / Last Name Profile Field
Summary
The The Paid Membership Plugin, Ecommerce, User Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content – ProfilePress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to, and including, 4.16.19. 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. The partial mitigation introduced via strip_shortcodes() on [profile-first-name] and [profile-last-name] can be bypassed through the [profile-display-name format="first_last_names"] render path, the [profile-bio] render path (which re-fetches the raw description meta), and the double-bracket escape sequence [[tag]], all of which allow attacker-controlled shortcode text to reach the outer do_shortcode() call.
Severity
5.4 (Medium)
CWE
- CWE-94 - Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Assigner
References
10 references
Impacted products
1 product
| Vendor | Product | Version | |
|---|---|---|---|
| properfraction | Paid Membership Plugin, Ecommerce, User Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content – ProfilePress |
Affected:
0 , ≤ 4.16.19
(semver)
|
{
"containers": {
"cna": {
"affected": [
{
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"product": "Paid Membership Plugin, Ecommerce, User Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile \u0026 Restrict Content \u2013 ProfilePress",
"vendor": "properfraction",
"versions": [
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "4.16.19",
"status": "affected",
"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver"
}
]
}
],
"credits": [
{
"lang": "en",
"type": "finder",
"value": "stealthcopter"
},
{
"lang": "en",
"type": "finder",
"value": "Kishan Vyas"
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "The The Paid Membership Plugin, Ecommerce, User Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile \u0026 Restrict Content \u2013 ProfilePress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to, and including, 4.16.19. 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. The partial mitigation introduced via strip_shortcodes() on [profile-first-name] and [profile-last-name] can be bypassed through the [profile-display-name format=\"first_last_names\"] render path, the [profile-bio] render path (which re-fetches the raw description meta), and the double-bracket escape sequence [[tag]], all of which allow attacker-controlled shortcode text to reach the outer do_shortcode() call."
}
],
"metrics": [
{
"cvssV3_1": {
"baseScore": 5.4,
"baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N",
"version": "3.1"
}
}
],
"problemTypes": [
{
"descriptions": [
{
"cweId": "CWE-94",
"description": "CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code (\u0027Code Injection\u0027)",
"lang": "en",
"type": "CWE"
}
]
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-08-16T04:24:50.980Z",
"orgId": "b15e7b5b-3da4-40ae-a43c-f7aa60e62599",
"shortName": "Wordfence"
},
"references": [
{
"url": "https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/345f3354-d2cb-4b92-a25d-9551a5992919?source=cve"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.19/src/ShortcodeParser/MemberDirectoryTag.php#L98"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.19/src/Themes/DragDrop/MemberDirectoryListing.php#L90"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.19/src/ShortcodeParser/Builder/FrontendProfileBuilder.php#L286"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.19/src/Classes/RegistrationAuth.php#L170"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.15/src/ShortcodeParser/MemberDirectoryTag.php#L98"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.15/src/Themes/DragDrop/MemberDirectoryListing.php#L90"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.15/src/ShortcodeParser/Builder/FrontendProfileBuilder.php#L286"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.15/src/Classes/RegistrationAuth.php#L170"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=\u0026old=3635466%40wp-user-avatar\u0026new=3635466%40wp-user-avatar"
}
],
"timeline": [
{
"lang": "en",
"time": "2026-07-30T13:10:31.000Z",
"value": "Vendor Notified"
},
{
"lang": "en",
"time": "2026-08-15T16:04:19.000Z",
"value": "Disclosed"
}
],
"title": "Paid Membership Plugin, Ecommerce, User Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile \u0026 Restrict Content \u003c= 4.16.19 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary Shortcode Execution via First Name / Last Name Profile Field"
}
},
"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "b15e7b5b-3da4-40ae-a43c-f7aa60e62599",
"assignerShortName": "Wordfence",
"cveId": "CVE-2026-18385",
"datePublished": "2026-08-16T04:24:50.980Z",
"dateReserved": "2026-07-30T12:55:20.137Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-08-16T04:24:50.980Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2",
"vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
"nvd": "{\"cve\":{\"id\":\"CVE-2026-18385\",\"sourceIdentifier\":\"security@wordfence.com\",\"published\":\"2026-08-16T05:16:48.170\",\"lastModified\":\"2026-08-16T05:16:48.170\",\"vulnStatus\":\"Received\",\"cveTags\":[],\"descriptions\":[{\"lang\":\"en\",\"value\":\"The The Paid Membership Plugin, Ecommerce, User Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile \u0026 Restrict Content \u2013 ProfilePress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to, and including, 4.16.19. 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. The partial mitigation introduced via strip_shortcodes() on [profile-first-name] and [profile-last-name] can be bypassed through the [profile-display-name format=\\\"first_last_names\\\"] render path, the [profile-bio] render path (which re-fetches the raw description meta), and the double-bracket escape sequence [[tag]], all of which allow attacker-controlled shortcode text to reach the outer do_shortcode() call.\"}],\"affected\":[{\"source\":\"security@wordfence.com\",\"affectedData\":[{\"vendor\":\"properfraction\",\"product\":\"Paid Membership Plugin, Ecommerce, User Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile \u0026 Restrict Content \u2013 ProfilePress\",\"defaultStatus\":\"unaffected\",\"versions\":[{\"version\":\"0\",\"lessThanOrEqual\":\"4.16.19\",\"versionType\":\"semver\",\"status\":\"affected\"}]}]}],\"metrics\":{\"cvssMetricV31\":[{\"source\":\"security@wordfence.com\",\"type\":\"Primary\",\"cvssData\":{\"version\":\"3.1\",\"vectorString\":\"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N\",\"baseScore\":5.4,\"baseSeverity\":\"MEDIUM\",\"attackVector\":\"NETWORK\",\"attackComplexity\":\"LOW\",\"privilegesRequired\":\"LOW\",\"userInteraction\":\"NONE\",\"scope\":\"UNCHANGED\",\"confidentialityImpact\":\"LOW\",\"integrityImpact\":\"LOW\",\"availabilityImpact\":\"NONE\"},\"exploitabilityScore\":2.8,\"impactScore\":2.5}]},\"weaknesses\":[{\"source\":\"security@wordfence.com\",\"type\":\"Primary\",\"description\":[{\"lang\":\"en\",\"value\":\"CWE-94\"}]}],\"references\":[{\"url\":\"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.15/src/Classes/RegistrationAuth.php#L170\",\"source\":\"security@wordfence.com\"},{\"url\":\"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.15/src/ShortcodeParser/Builder/FrontendProfileBuilder.php#L286\",\"source\":\"security@wordfence.com\"},{\"url\":\"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.15/src/ShortcodeParser/MemberDirectoryTag.php#L98\",\"source\":\"security@wordfence.com\"},{\"url\":\"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.15/src/Themes/DragDrop/MemberDirectoryListing.php#L90\",\"source\":\"security@wordfence.com\"},{\"url\":\"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.19/src/Classes/RegistrationAuth.php#L170\",\"source\":\"security@wordfence.com\"},{\"url\":\"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.19/src/ShortcodeParser/Builder/FrontendProfileBuilder.php#L286\",\"source\":\"security@wordfence.com\"},{\"url\":\"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.19/src/ShortcodeParser/MemberDirectoryTag.php#L98\",\"source\":\"security@wordfence.com\"},{\"url\":\"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-avatar/tags/4.16.19/src/Themes/DragDrop/MemberDirectoryListing.php#L90\",\"source\":\"security@wordfence.com\"},{\"url\":\"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=\u0026old=3635466%40wp-user-avatar\u0026new=3635466%40wp-user-avatar\",\"source\":\"security@wordfence.com\"},{\"url\":\"https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/345f3354-d2cb-4b92-a25d-9551a5992919?source=cve\",\"source\":\"security@wordfence.com\"}]}}"
}
}
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Experimental. This forecast is provided for visualization only and may change without notice. Do not use it for operational decisions.
Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
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The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the
vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base
model, served locally by ML-Gateway.
They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
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