# CVE-2023-5809: Popup box < 3.8.6 - Admin+ Stored XSS in Categories

> Admin users can inject malicious scripts via unsanitized settings in the Popup box plugin, enabling stored XSS attacks in multisite environments.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 4 Dec 2023
- **Updated:** 2 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5356-6vfv-g9cf

## What is CVE-2023-5809?

CVE-2023-5809 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Unknown Popup box, published on 4 Dec 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

The Popup box WordPress plugin before 3.8.6 does not sanitise and escape some of its settings, which could allow high privilege users such as admin to perform Stored Cross-Site Scripting attacks even when the unfiltered_html capability is disallowed (for example in multisite setup)

Weakness: CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-5809?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ays-Pro Popup Box.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-5809?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-5809 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-5809 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-5809 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Unknown Popup box

- [CVE-2021-24458](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24458/): Popup box < 2.3.4 - Authenticated Blind SQL Injections (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-24460](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24460/): Popup Like box - Page Plugin < 3.5.3 - Authenticated Blind SQL Injections (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-27414](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-27414/): WordPress Popup box Plugin <= 3.4.4 is vulnerable to Cross Site Scripting (XSS) (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2025-15611](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-15611/): Popup Box AYS Pro < 5.5.0 - Admin+ Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) via CSRF (medium 5.4)
- [CVE-2024-9599](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9599/): Popup Box < 4.7.8 - Admin+ Stored XSS (medium 5.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-5809 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-5809 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Unknown Popup box, published on 4 Dec 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-5809 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Unknown Popup box. 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-2023-5809/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5809/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-5809
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-5809
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-5809

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5809/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.