Attack Vectors

CVE-2024-13785 is a Medium-severity vulnerability (CVSS 5.6) affecting the WordPress plugin Contact Form, Survey, Quiz & Popup Form Builder – ARForms (slug: arforms-form-builder) in versions <= 1.7.2.

The issue is unauthenticated, meaning an external attacker does not need a login to attempt exploitation over the internet (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L). In practical terms, any public-facing WordPress site using the affected plugin version may be exposed if the vulnerable functionality is reachable.

Because this is described as blind shortcode execution, attackers may not see immediate on-screen results, but they can still attempt actions that produce behind-the-scenes changes (for example, triggering site behaviors tied to shortcodes).

Security Weakness

According to the published advisory, ARForms is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to and including 1.7.2. The root cause is that the software allows users to execute an action that does not properly validate a value before it is processed by WordPress’s shortcode handling (via do_shortcode).

Shortcodes are a normal WordPress feature used by many plugins to render dynamic content. The risk arises when untrusted input can trigger shortcodes that were never intended to run for anonymous visitors, potentially enabling unintended site actions depending on what shortcodes (from ARForms or other installed plugins) are available.

Remediation note: The source indicates there is no known patch available at this time. Organizations should weigh mitigations based on risk tolerance, and it may be appropriate to uninstall the affected software and replace it if business impact is unacceptable.

Technical or Business Impacts

While the severity is rated Medium, the business implications can be meaningful because the attack is remote and requires no authentication. The most relevant impacts for marketing, revenue, and compliance teams include:

Brand and trust risk: Form and popup plugins often sit on high-traffic landing pages. Any exploitation that alters how pages behave (even subtly) can reduce lead quality, create confusing user experiences, or undermine trust.

Data and compliance exposure: The CVSS vector indicates low potential impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Even “low” can matter if your site collects regulated or sensitive data (contact requests, survey responses, quiz outcomes) and you have obligations under privacy or contractual requirements.

Operational disruption: Unexpected shortcode execution can lead to unpredictable content rendering or site behavior. At minimum, this can increase support burden; at worst, it can affect conversion paths and campaign performance.

Recommended actions (risk-based): Confirm whether ARForms is installed and its version. If you are running 1.7.2 or earlier, consider removing and replacing the plugin, or limiting exposure (for example, reducing public access to affected functionality) until a verified fix is available. Coordinate with IT/security to increase monitoring for unusual requests and to review other plugins’ shortcodes that could amplify impact.

Reference: CVE record for CVE-2024-13785 and the published advisory source: Wordfence vulnerability intelligence entry.

Similar Attacks

Shortcode, form, and plugin-related vulnerabilities are a recurring theme in WordPress incidents. Examples that illustrate how plugin flaws can translate into real business risk include:

WP File Manager 0-day under active attack (Wordfence, 2020) — an example of how widely deployed plugins can become rapid targets once exploitation is known.

Slider Revolution vulnerability and large-scale site compromise (Sucuri, 2014) — illustrates how a single vulnerable plugin can contribute to broad campaigns impacting many brands.

MailPoet (Wysija) Newsletter plugin vulnerability (Sucuri, 2014) — shows how marketing-adjacent plugins can become an entry point with downstream reputational and operational damage.