Subscriber-level code execution via PHP shortcode
Published Sep 30, 2023 · Updated Apr 8, 2026
Code injection in Rick Beckman OpenHook 4.3.0 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary PHP via the php shortcode. The registered shortcode handler passes attacker-controlled shortcode body text to eval, which interprets it as PHP rather than inert content. Subscriber access is sufficient, but execution requires an administrator to enable the PHP shortcode setting and grants server-side PHP execution.
Summary
What happened
Code injection in Rick Beckman OpenHook 4.3.0 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary PHP via the php shortcode. The registered shortcode handler passes attacker-controlled shortcode body text to eval, which interprets it as PHP rather than inert content. Subscriber access is sufficient, but execution requires an administrator to enable the PHP shortcode setting and grants server-side PHP execution.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-5201
- Published
- Sep 30, 2023
- Updated
- Apr 8, 2026
- Vendor
- Rick Beckman
- Product
- OpenHook
- Classifications
- CWE-94, T1059
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 30, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 8, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <=4.3.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Reported exploitation
- Wordfence blocked attacks targeting OpenHookreported exploitation
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo