Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer vulnerability

What happened

The Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to, and including, 6.3.1 This is due to the plugin substituting a user's `display_name` into the composed page markup unfiltered and then running the whole result through `do_shortcode()` in `TheFrontend::replace_content()`. Because `display_name` is writable by any user on their own account through the core profile form, this makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access and above to execute arbitrary shortcodes. Where the page is a users collection — an ordinary team or member-directory page — the shortcode runs in the request of every visitor, including unauthenticated ones. Requires a published page with a Kirki element whose dynamic content is bound to the `display_name` user field.

Affected versions

Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer: 0 through 6.3.1 (semver) Fixed: See vendor advisory.

Why it matters

Review the vendor advisory and exposure of the affected product to determine operational impact.

Detection & mitigation

• Apply vendor-provided updates or mitigations.
• Review affected product exposure and access logs.