# CVE-2023-3169: tagDiv Composer < 4.2 - Unauthenticated Stored XSS

> Unauthenticated attackers can inject malicious scripts via a REST route in the tagDiv Composer WordPress plugin, leading to stored XSS.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Sep 2023
- **Updated:** 26 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-84rx-q376-r85h

## What is CVE-2023-3169?

CVE-2023-3169 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Unknown tagDiv Composer, published on 11 Sep 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

The tagDiv Composer WordPress plugin before 4.2, used as a companion by the Newspaper and Newsmag themes from tagDiv, does not have authorisation in a REST route and does not validate as well as escape some parameters when outputting them back, which could allow unauthenticated users to perform Stored Cross-Site Scripting attacks.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-3169?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Tagdiv Tagdiv Composer.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-3169?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-3169 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-3169 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-3169 exists.

Public exploit code:

- tagDiv Composer < 4.2 - Stored Cross-Site Scripting (nuclei): http/cves/2023/CVE-2023-3169.yaml

## Other vulnerabilities in Unknown tagDiv Composer

- [CVE-2024-3813](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-3813/): tagDiv Composer <= 4.8 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Local File Inclusion via Shortcode (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-39166](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-39166/): WordPress tagDiv Composer Plugin < 4.4 is vulnerable to Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2025-2806](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-2806/): tagDiv Composer <= 5.3 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via 'data' (medium 6.1)
- [CVE-2024-3886](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-3886/): tagDiv Composer <= 5.0 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via envato_code[] (medium 6.1)
- [CVE-2024-5212](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-5212/): tagDiv Composer <= 5.0 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via envato_code[] (medium 6.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-3169 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-3169 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Unknown tagDiv Composer, published on 11 Sep 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-3169 exists.

Affected product: Unknown tagDiv Composer. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3169/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3169/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-3169
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-3169
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-3169

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3169/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.