# CVE-2026-80440: Hustle < 7.8.14.2 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary Shortcode Execution via Success Message Placeholders

> Unauthenticated attackers can execute arbitrary shortcodes via form submission placeholders, potentially leading to code execution on the WordPress site.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 9 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rf7x-rwhg-53vc

## What is CVE-2026-80440?

CVE-2026-80440 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in Unknown Hustle, published on 9 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Hustle WordPress plugin before 7.8.14.2 does not prevent shortcodes in submitted form values from being executed when it substitutes those values into the message it returns after submission, because the guard it applies can be defeated by nesting, allowing unauthenticated users to run any shortcode registered on the site.

Weakness: CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-80440?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-80440?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-80440 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-80440 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80440 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-80440 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-80440 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in Unknown Hustle, published on 9 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80440 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Unknown Hustle. 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-2026-80440/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80440/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-80440
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80440
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-80440

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80440/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.