Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessReach public WordPress endpoint unauthenticated
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DeliveryTrigger action calling do_shortcode on unvalidated value
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ExploitInject arbitrary Divi shortcode payload
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ExecutionInvoke et_pb_contact_form with attacker recipient/content
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ImpactServer sends attacker-controlled email (spam/phishing relay)
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Authorization checks on every request
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Base shortcode-injection reachability requires no authentication, no user interaction, and works remotely against Divi <=5.11.1 via the action that passes an unvalidated value to do_shortcode. The specific email-abuse impact via et_pb_contact_form is additionally gated on the site having the non-default 'Force Enable D4 Shortcode Framework' option enabled; sites without that option are exposed to arbitrary shortcode execution but not this particular email vector. Impact is limited to integrity effects (email injection / shortcode side effects) - there is no confidentiality or availability impact per the vector, and no code execution is claimed. |
| Impact | This is a genuine but moderate-severity issue, correctly rated CVSS 5.3. The vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N is internally consistent with the description: an unauthenticated network attacker (PR:N/UI:N) can trigger do_shortcode on an insufficiently validated value with no confidentiality or availability impact and only limited integrity impact (I:L), which matches a mail-injection/spam-relay outcome rather than code execution or data theft. Exploitation status: no public exploit identified at time of analysis - Wordfence indexed it but there is no KEV listing, no EPSS score, and no POC in the provided references, so this is a disclosed-and-patched flaw rather than a confirmed exploited one. The most severe named consequence (invoking et_pb_contact_form to send attacker-controlled email to an attacker-chosen recipient) is gated on the non-default 'Force Enable D4 Shortcode Framework' option, so real-world impact is narrower than the unauthenticated/network profile alone suggests. Net: prioritize patching because Divi's install base is enormous, but this is not a critical RCE-class emergency - treat it as a medium priority spam/abuse and shortcode-injection exposure. No signals are strongly conflicting; the main uncertainty is that concrete impact beyond email abuse (which other shortcodes are reachable) is not enumerated in the available data. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An unauthenticated attacker sends a crafted request to a vulnerable Divi site triggering the action that calls do_shortcode on an unvalidated value, injecting arbitrary Divi shortcodes. On a site with 'Force Enable D4 Shortcode Framework' enabled, the attacker invokes et_pb_contact_form to send emails with attacker-controlled recipient and body, turning the site into a spam/phishing relay. No public exploit code is identified at time of analysis, and no authentication or user interaction is required. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 18, 2026
Unauthenticated arbitrary shortcode execution in the Divi theme for WordPress (all versions up to and including 5.11.1) allows remote attackers to invoke any registered shortcode by supplying an unvalidated value to do_shortcode through an action endpoint that lacks a proper authorization check (CWE-862). Rated CVSS 5.3 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N), the confirmed impact is integrity-only: no confidentiality or availability loss and no code execution is claimed. When the non-default 'Force Enable D4 Shortcode Framework' option is enabled, attackers can additionally abuse the et_pb_contact_form shortcode to send email to an attacker-chosen recipient with attacker-controlled content; sites without that option still permit arbitrary shortcode execution but not this specific email vector. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV, so this is a genuine but moderate-severity weakness rather than an actively exploited one.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade the Divi theme to version 5.12.0 or later, as documented in the Divi changelog entry at https://www.divichangelog.com/divi-update/divi-5/version-5-12-0 (overview at https://www.divichangelog.com/ and vendor advisory context via Wordfence at https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/79a2fa3b-f9eb-49d8-97be-3a81d1b69c2e?source=cve). Because the root cause is a missing authorization/validation check on a value passed to do_shortcode, updating is the only complete fix. If immediate patching is not possible, disable the 'Force Enable D4 Shortcode Framework' option, which removes the et_pb_contact_form email-abuse path (trade-off: this disables Divi 4 shortcode-framework behavior and may break legacy Divi 4 modules or layouts that depend on it, and it does not close the underlying unauthenticated shortcode-execution flaw). Additional compensating controls include front-end WAF rules that block requests to the theme's action endpoint carrying shortcode-syntax payloads such as bracketed et_pb_* tokens, and monitoring outbound mail for unexpected recipients or content generated by contact-form shortcodes; both are detection/short-term measures with false-positive and maintenance trade-offs and should not be treated as substitutes for upgrading to 5.12.0.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Divi is a commercial WordPress theme from Elegant Themes whose page-building functionality relies heavily on WordPress shortcodes - small bracketed macros that the WordPress core function do_shortcode() parses and renders into HTML or side effects. The vulnerability class is CWE-862 (Missing Authorization): an action exposed by the theme accepts a caller-supplied value and passes it into do_shortcode() without validating the value or verifying that the caller is authorized to execute that shortcode. Because shortcodes are effectively arbitrary plugin/theme-registered callbacks, an unvalidated pass-through means any shortcode registered on the site (including Divi's own et_pb_* shortcodes such as et_pb_contact_form) can be triggered by an unauthenticated request. The email-sending impact is a downstream consequence of the et_pb_contact_form shortcode, which is only registered/available when the Divi 4 'Force Enable D4 Shortcode Framework' option is turned on. The CVSS vector (PR:N, UI:N) confirms the reachability path requires neither authentication nor user interaction, while C:N/A:N keeps the impact scoped to integrity, consistent with shortcode side effects such as outgoing mail rather than data disclosure or code execution.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Unauthenticated remote request with no interaction (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N); only limited integrity via shortcode/email injection (I:L), no confidentiality or availability impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (Wordfence).
CVSS VectorVendor: Wordfence
DescriptionCVE.org
The The Divi theme for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to, and including, 5.11.1. This is due to the software allowing users to execute an action that does not properly validate a value before running do_shortcode. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary shortcodes. When the 'Force Enable D4 Shortcode Framework' option is enabled, this includes invoking the et_pb_contact_form shortcode to send email to an attacker-selected recipient with attacker-controlled content.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
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Stored XSS in the Divi WordPress theme's Social Media Follow module allows authenticated Contributor-level users to inje
The Divi theme for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting in all versions up to, and including, 4.25.1 d
The Divi theme for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's 'et_pb_text' shortcode in all
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DOM-based stored Cross-Site Scripting in the Divi WordPress theme (all versions through 4.27.6) allows authenticated Con
Stored Cross-Site Scripting in Elegant Themes' Divi WordPress theme (all versions through 4.27.6) enables authenticated
Auth. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor pat
Blind Server-Side Request Forgery in the Divi WordPress theme (all versions through 4.27.6) allows authenticated Contrib
EUVD-2026-82727
GHSA-8xr3-mxv3-qm4h
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB