# CVE-2023-6226: WP Shortcodes Plugin — Shortcodes Ultimate <= 5.13.3 - Insecure Direct Object Reference to Information Disclosure

> Authenticated attackers with contributor access can retrieve arbitrary post meta values via insecure direct object reference in the Shortcodes Ultimate plugin.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **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:** 28 Nov 2023
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g352-7rff-pgcm

## What is CVE-2023-6226?

CVE-2023-6226 is a medium-severity vulnerability in gn_themes WP Shortcodes Plugin — Shortcodes Ultimate, published on 28 Nov 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The WP Shortcodes Plugin — Shortcodes Ultimate plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in all versions up to, and including, 5.13.3 via the su_meta shortcode due to missing validation on the user controlled keys 'key' and 'post_id'. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to retrieve arbitrary post meta values which may contain sensitive information when combined with another plugin.

Weakness: CWE-639 (Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-6226?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Getshortcodes Shortcodes Ultimate.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-6226?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-6226 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-6226 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-6226 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in gn_themes WP Shortcodes Plugin — Shortcodes Ultimate

- [CVE-2017-18580](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-18580/): Code injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-23800](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-23800/): WordPress Shortcodes Ultimate Plugin <= 5.12.6 is vulnerable to Server Side Request Forgery (SSRF) (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2023-25040](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-25040/): WordPress Shortcodes Ultimate Plugin <= 5.12.6 is vulnerable to Cross Site Scripting (XSS) (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2023-0890](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0890/): Shortcodes Ultimate < 5.12.8 - Subscriber+ Arbitrary Post Access (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2023-0911](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0911/): Shortcodes Ultimate < 5.12.8 - Subscriber+ User Meta Disclosure (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-6226 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-6226 is a medium-severity vulnerability in gn_themes WP Shortcodes Plugin — Shortcodes Ultimate, published on 28 Nov 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-6226 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: gn_themes WP Shortcodes Plugin — Shortcodes Ultimate. 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-2023-6226/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-6226/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-6226
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-6226
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-6226

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-6226/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.