Ultimate FAQs Plugin - XSS (CVE-2019-17233)

CVE-2019-17233 is a vulnerability in the ultimate-faqs plugin for WordPress (up to version 1.8.24) that allows attackers to inject arbitrary HTML content via the EWD_UFAQ_Import.php function. This flaw could be exploited to perform attacks such as defacement, phishing, or injecting malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 24th of September 2025.

Insights from the CrowdSec network reveal that the attackers trying to exploit CVE-2019-17233 are composed of a fairly even mix of opportunistic and targeted actors. Some attackers employ preliminary reconnaissance, while others use indiscriminate scanning. CrowdSec network telemetry also shows that exploitation of CVE-2019-17233 has significantly declined over the past week. Attack volumes are well below the long-term average, suggesting attackers are rapidly losing interest. The vulnerability appears to be falling out of active use across most threat landscapes.

Attackers exploit the /wp-admin/admin.php?page=EWD-UFAQ-Options&DisplayPage=ImportPosts&Action=EWD_UFAQ_ImportFaqsFromSpreadsheet endpoint to upload malicious CSV files, resulting in HTML content injection that is later rendered via the /?ufaq= parameter on the public site.