ProfilePress Plugin up to 4.17.5 on WordPress Shortcode get_user_profile_structure code injection

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in ProfilePress Plugin up to 4.17.5. It has been declared as critical. Affected by this issue is the function get_user_profile_structure of the component Shortcode Handler. The manipulation results in code injection. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2026-104003. The attack may be launched remotely. There is no exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in ProfilePress Plugin up to 4.17.5. It has been classified as critical. Affected is the function get_user_profile_structure of the component Shortcode Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a code injection vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-94. The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

The WP User Avatar / ProfilePress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary Shortcode Execution in versions up to, and including, 4.17.5. This is due to the get_user_profile_structure() function assembling the front-end profile buffer — which includes raw comment excerpts inlined by author_comment_query() — and passing the entire buffer to do_shortcode() after only a narrow neutralization pass (ppress_neutralize_buffer_shortcodes) that blocks pp-custom-html and bracket fragments containing HTML delimiters but leaves any other well-formed shortcode intact. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to inject arbitrary shortcodes (from any active plugin or theme) with attacker-chosen attributes by posting a comment whose body contains the shortcode markup; the shortcode is then executed server-side when any visitor loads the target's front-end profile Comments tab, letting the attacker reach capability-gated or data-returning shortcodes and inject raw HTML markup into a publicly viewable page.

The advisory is shared for download at wordfence.com. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-104003 since 10/01/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. Successful exploitation requires user interaction by the victim. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 10/16/2026). The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1059.

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2026-102825). VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Productinfo

Type

• WordPress Plugin

Name

• ProfilePress Plugin

Version

• 4.17.0
• 4.17.1
• 4.17.2
• 4.17.3
• 4.17.4
• 4.17.5

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VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

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