All vulnerabilities
CVE-2026-100159

Popup Box 6.4.1 - 6.4.2 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary Shortcode Execution via Client-IP / X-Forwarded-For HTTP Headers

ays-pro Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups
CVSS
4.8Medium
ExploitationNo known exploitationNot in CISA KEV, which does not prove it is unexploitedCISA KEV
Exploit odds (EPSS)0.26%Chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 16% of CVEs. Scored 23 Oct 2026FIRST EPSS
Fixed inNone listedNo source names a fixed version yet
Published16 Oct 2026Updated 16 Oct 2026CVE List

What fixes it

No source in this snapshot names a fixed version.

Description

The Popup Box plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary Shortcode Execution in versions 6.4.1 to 6.4.2. This is due to the ays_popup_get_user_ip() function reading the client-controlled Client-IP / X-Forwarded-For / Forwarded / X-Forwarded / Forwarded-For request headers, sanitizing them only with sanitize_text_field() (which does not strip the bracket, quote, space, or '=' characters used by shortcode syntax), substituting the value into a popup body wherever the %%user_ip_address%% token appears (a raw str_replace with no escaping in Ays_Pb_Data::replace_message_variables()), and then passing the resulting body to do_shortcode() in Ays_Pb_Public::ays_autoembed() at output on the wp_footer hook. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary registered shortcodes with attacker-supplied attributes on the server whenever an administrator has added the %%user_ip_address%% token to a popup's Custom Content body, which can be leveraged to read arbitrary data or perform other actions exposed by shortcodes installed on the site.

Text from CVE List

Affected versions 1

  • Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popupsaffected: 6.4.1 through 6.4.2CVE List

References 7