CVE-2026-105322 in Magee Shortcodes Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/07/2026
The Magee Shortcodes WordPress plugin through 2.1.1 does not restrict the recipient of some of its unauthenticated contact-form actions, allowing unauthenticated users to send arbitrary emails to any address through the site (mail relay).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/07/2026
The vulnerability identified in the Magee Shortcodes WordPress plugin prior to version 2.1.1 represents a critical failure in access control mechanisms within the application's email handling functionality. This flaw specifically affects unauthenticated contact-form actions, where the software fails to validate or restrict the destination address for outgoing emails. In standard web application security practices, any endpoint that facilitates communication with external systems must enforce strict validation on input parameters, particularly those defining recipients. The absence of such restrictions allows an attacker who is not logged into the WordPress administration panel or as a registered user to interact directly with these endpoints and manipulate the email recipient field. This lack of server-side validation constitutes a significant deviation from secure coding standards, exposing the underlying infrastructure to abuse by malicious actors seeking to exploit the site's legitimate mail relay capabilities for unauthorized purposes.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability is classified under CWE-284, which describes Improper Access Control, and more specifically aligns with CWE-918, Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) variants that involve email injection or abuse of internal services. The operational impact of this flaw extends beyond simple spam distribution; it enables unauthenticated users to send arbitrary emails to any address on the internet using the compromised website's server resources and IP reputation. This can lead to severe consequences including blacklisting of the domain by major email providers, degradation of sender reputation, and potential legal liabilities for the site owner due to compliance violations related to unsolicited communications or phishing campaigns launched from their infrastructure. Furthermore, this capability can be leveraged as a stepping stone in more complex attack chains, such as credential stuffing via password reset abuse if other parts of the application are similarly vulnerable, or as part of broader social engineering attacks where emails appear to originate legitimately from the compromised organization's domain.
In terms of threat intelligence and tactical mapping, this vulnerability aligns with MITRE ATT&CK technique T1534, Internal Spearphishing, although in this context it is used for external relay rather than internal lateral movement. It also relates to T1071 Application Layer Protocol abuse, as the attacker utilizes standard HTTP requests to manipulate application-level email functions. The exploitation requires no authentication, which significantly lowers the barrier to entry for attackers and increases the likelihood of automated scanning and mass exploitation across vulnerable installations worldwide. Security researchers have noted that such flaws are often overlooked during initial development because developers assume that contact forms are inherently safe or protected by CAPTCHA mechanisms, yet without proper backend validation on recipient fields, these front-end protections can be bypassed entirely through direct API interaction or form manipulation tools.
To mitigate this vulnerability, immediate action is required to update the Magee Shortcodes plugin to version 2.1.1 or later, where the developers have implemented necessary access controls and input validations. For organizations unable to patch immediately due to compatibility concerns with other plugins or custom code modifications, a temporary workaround involves implementing server-level rules that restrict outbound email sending from web directories unless explicitly authorized by specific application logic. Additionally, integrating Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules can help detect and block anomalous patterns of email requests originating from unauthenticated users. Long-term remediation strategies should include adopting secure coding frameworks that enforce strict input validation on all user-supplied data destined for sensitive operations like mail sending, implementing allow-lists for recipient domains where possible, and conducting regular security audits to identify similar access control deficiencies across the entire WordPress ecosystem. Regular monitoring of server logs for unusual spikes in outbound email traffic can also aid in early detection of exploitation attempts before significant damage occurs.