Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-0084

XSS in Wpmet Metform Elementor Contact Form Builder ≤ 3.1.2

XSS
Published
02 March 2023
Modified
08 April 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.2
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
EPSS Score 0.29 98th percentile
Risk Priority 77 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-0084 is a high-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Wpmet Metform Elementor Contact Form Builder. Its CVSS base score is 7.2 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked in the top 2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

The Metform Elementor Contact Form Builder plugin for WordPress is affected by a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79) in versions up to and including 3.1.2. The flaw resides in the handling of text areas within forms, where insufficient input sanitization and output escaping allow arbitrary script injection that persists and executes on the submissions page.

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit the issue over the network by submitting crafted form input that stores malicious scripts. When an administrator or other user later views the submissions page, the scripts execute in the victim's browser context, enabling actions such as session hijacking or unauthorized data access with a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.2.

Public references, including the Wordfence advisory and the WordPress plugin trac changeset, indicate that the issue was addressed by updating the plugin to a version containing improved sanitization and escaping. Site administrators are advised to apply the available patch or upgrade beyond 3.1.2.

EPSS for this CVE rose from lower values to a peak of 0.5949 before receding to the current 0.4784, indicating post-disclosure exploitation interest that warrants monitoring.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The Metform Elementor Contact Form Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via text areas on forms in versions up to, and including, 3.1.2 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for…

more

unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page, which is the submissions page.

CWE(s)
CWE-79

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1185 Browser Session Hijacking Collection
Adversaries may take advantage of security vulnerabilities and inherent functionality in browser software to change content, modify user-behaviors, and intercept information as part of various browser session hijacking techniques.
attack.mitre.org →
T1539 Steal Web Session Cookie Credential Access
An adversary may steal web application or service session cookies and use them to gain access to web applications or Internet services as an authenticated user without needing credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
attack.mitre.org →
T1189 Drive-by Compromise Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access to a system through a user visiting a website over the normal course of browsing.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-0708Same product: Wpmet Metform Elementor Contact Form Builder
CVE-2023-0710Same product: Wpmet Metform Elementor Contact Form Builder
CVE-2023-0709Same product: Wpmet Metform Elementor Contact Form Builder
CVE-2023-0695Same product: Wpmet Metform Elementor Contact Form Builder
CVE-2023-5005Same product class: WordPress / CMS plugin
CVE-2023-0585Same product class: WordPress / CMS plugin
CVE-2023-40680Same product class: WordPress / CMS plugin
CVE-2023-47547Same product class: WordPress / CMS plugin
CVE-2023-47680Same product class: WordPress / CMS plugin
CVE-2023-1159Same product class: WordPress / CMS plugin

Affected Assets

wpmet
metform elementor contact form builder
≤ 3.1.2

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.1.2
  • V1.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

CA-8 Penetration Testing
addresses: CWE-79

Penetration testing submits XSS payloads to web applications, detecting cross-site scripting flaws for subsequent remediation.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-79

Validates web inputs to reject script-related content that could produce XSS.

SI-15 Information Output Filtering
addresses: CWE-79

Output validation against expected content can reject or sanitize script content in generated web pages, reducing XSS exploitability.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly target introduction of XSS via coding standards/testing (mostly), yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors unaddressed (partial).

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching and EOL replacement can remediate known XSS instances in libraries or frameworks (partial) but do nothing to enforce input neutralization in application code (none).

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Secure-coding testing and automated code-analysis tools are applied to detect improper neutralization of script-related content during web-page generation.

A.5.6 Contact with special interest groups partial match
prevents

Knowledge exchange on emerging attack techniques and patches reduces the likelihood that cross-site scripting flaws remain unaddressed in deployed applications.

A.5.7 Threat intelligence partial match
prevents

Operational indicators of compromise for web-application attacks can be incorporated into WAF or input-filtering rules, lowering the likelihood that unsanitized data reaches the browser.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Requiring language-specific secure-coding standards and automated scanning during the SDLC catches missing output encoding or improper neutralization of untrusted data before the software reaches production.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure-coding standards, SAST scans and removal of insecure code samples together eliminate the failure to neutralize script content that produces cross-site scripting flaws.

A.8.7 Protection against malware none match
none

Webpage malware scanning and block-listing of known malicious sites reduce the likelihood that reflected or stored script payloads reach a user’s browser.

References