CVE-2023-23491
Published: 20 January 2023
Summary
CVE-2023-23491 is a medium-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Fullworksplugins Quick Event Manager. Its CVSS base score is 6.1 (Medium).
Operationally, ranked in the top 6.4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis
The Quick Event Manager WordPress plugin versions prior to 9.7.5 are affected by a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79) in the 'category' parameter of the qem_ajax_calendar action. The flaw carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 6.1 and permits injection of arbitrary script content that executes in the browser of a visiting user.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue by supplying a crafted URL containing malicious JavaScript in the category parameter; when a victim follows the link, the script runs in the context of the vulnerable site, enabling theft of cookies or other client-side actions with changed scope.
The Tenable advisory at the referenced URL details the discovery but does not enumerate specific mitigation steps beyond the implied need to update the plugin. The associated EPSS values remain in a narrow band between 0.1109 and a peak of 0.1245, indicating no pronounced post-disclosure surge in exploitation interest.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-27591
Vulnerability details
The Quick Event Manager WordPress Plugin, version < 9.7.5, is affected by a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability in the 'category' parameter of its 'qem_ajax_calendar' action.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Penetration testing submits XSS payloads to web applications, detecting cross-site scripting flaws for subsequent remediation.
Validates web inputs to reject script-related content that could produce XSS.
Output validation against expected content can reject or sanitize script content in generated web pages, reducing XSS exploitability.