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Crayon Syntax Highlighter - Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) (CVE-2023-4893)

CVE-2023-4893

The Crayon Syntax Highlighter plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Server Side Request Forgery via the 'crayon' shortcode in versions up to, and including, 2.8.4. This can allow authenticated attackers with contributor-level permissions or above to make web requests to arbitrary locations originating from the web application and can be used to query and modify information from internal services.

CVE-2023-4893

MEDIUM CVSS 6.4 Published 2023-09-12 Updated 2026-06-17
AI Risk Elevated (63/100) Active Exploit: No strong signal Published Exploit: No public exploit references Priority: P3 Priority
Severity Band MEDIUM
CVSS Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Affected Components 1
Reference Links 2
AI Risk Engine Elevated (63/100)
Exploitability High
Active Exploitation No strong signal
Published Exploit Status No public exploit references

Threat Timeline

  1. 2023-09-12 CVE published and first recorded in the threat feed.
  2. 2026-06-17 Record updated with latest vulnerability metadata.
  3. 2026-04-11 AI technical context refreshed for mitigation and impact guidance.
  4. Now Monitoring for follow-up changes, linked references, and new related CVEs.

AI Context

Machine-generated threat intelligence

AI Updated 172 days ago

AI enriched 172 days ago (2026-04-11 16:24 UTC)

Technical Summary

The Crayon Syntax Highlighter plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Server Side Request Forgery via the 'crayon' shortcode in versions up to, and including, 2.8.4. This can allow authenticated attackers with contributor-level permissions or above to make web requests to arbitrary locations originating from the web application and can be used to query and modify information from internal services.

Potential Impact

Severity is MEDIUM (CVSS 6.4). Depending on deployment context, affected components may be exposed to unauthorized actions or data integrity risk.

Exploitability Assessment

Exploitability is assessed as High based on remote code execution potential.

Primary risk drivers: remote code execution potential

Mitigation Recommendations

Validate affected product versions, prioritize patching, and monitor references for vendor remediation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, apply compensating controls and limit exposure of vulnerable surfaces.

Detection & Monitoring

Track authentication anomalies, unexpected file writes, and suspicious plugin API activity around affected components.

Business Impact Lens

AI risk score 63/100 (Elevated, High) with priority P3 Priority. Prioritize remediation where affected components process customer data, admin sessions, or Internet-exposed workflows.

Affected Products

Crayon Syntax Highlighter PLUGIN · crayon-syntax-highlighter Affected: <= 2.8.4 Fixed version not specified

References

What to do about this

Patch on your next cycle Worth fixing, but not ahead of other work.

Fix it

Update Crayon Syntax Highlighter to the latest available version.

Where the vendor has not published a fix yet, disable the plugin until they do.

Cannot update today? Request / payload inspection (WAF) in Hack Halt ProSecure blocks this class of attack before WordPress processes the request.

Inspect request parameters and bodies for injection, traversal and file-inclusion payloads, and refuse the request rather than logging it.

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Not sure if you are affected?

Scan your site to see whether it runs Crayon Syntax Highlighter, and at which version.

Free, no installation, no account. It reads what your site already publishes, then tells you which plugins carry known vulnerabilities and what to do about each one.

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Am I affected by this vulnerability?

You are affected if your site runs Crayon Syntax Highlighter.

How do I fix it?

Update Crayon Syntax Highlighter to the latest available version. Where the vendor has not yet published a fix, remove or disable the plugin until they do. Until you can update, Request / payload inspection (WAF) in Hack Halt ProSecure contains this class of attack at the request layer.

What can an attacker actually do?

This is a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) flaw. An attacker who exploits it can make the server itself fetch a URL of their choosing, reaching internal services.