# CVE-2023-5527: Business Directory Plugin <= 6.4.3 - Authenticated (Author+) CSV Injection

> Authenticated attackers can inject malicious formulas into CSV exports, leading to code execution when administrators open the files.

- **Severity:** High 7.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 18 Jun 2024
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-c89w-5mx2-xmrq

## What is CVE-2023-5527?

CVE-2023-5527 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in strategy11team Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing Directories for WordPress, published on 18 Jun 2024. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Business Directory Plugin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to CSV Injection in versions up to, and including, 6.4.3 via the class-csv-exporter.php file. This allows authenticated attackers, with author-level permissions and above, to embed untrusted input into CSV files exported by administrators, which can result in code execution when these files are downloaded and opened on a local system with a vulnerable configuration.

Weakness: CWE-1236 (Improper Neutralization of Formula Elements in a CSV File)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-5527?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Businessdirectoryplugin Business Directory.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-5527?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-5527 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-5527 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-5527 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in strategy11team Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing Directories for WordPress

- [CVE-2024-4443](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4443/): SQL injection in Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing Directories for WordPress (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-51516](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-51516/): Missing authorization in Business Directory Plugin (medium 5.4)
- [CVE-2023-5803](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5803/): WordPress Business Directory Plugin Plugin <= 6.3.10 is vulnerable to Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) (medium 4.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-5527 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-5527 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in strategy11team Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing Directories for WordPress, published on 18 Jun 2024. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-5527 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: strategy11team Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing Directories for WordPress. 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-2023-5527/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5527/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-5527
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-5527
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-5527

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5527/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.