Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:NSummary
CVE-2023-2745 is a medium-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Wordpress Wordpress. Its CVSS base score is 5.4 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 0.4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
WordPress Core versions up to and including 6.2 are affected by a directory traversal vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-2745 and assigned CWE-22. The flaw resides in handling of the wp_lang parameter and enables unauthenticated attackers to access and load arbitrary translation files. When an attacker can also place a crafted translation file on the target site, the same vector can be leveraged for cross-site scripting. The issue received a CVSS 3.1 score of 5.4.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can supply a malicious wp_lang value to traverse directories and retrieve translation files outside the intended scope. If the attacker additionally possesses or obtains an upload capability on the site, the loaded file can contain script payloads that execute in the context of other users, achieving reflected or stored XSS.
Official advisories and the WordPress 6.2.1 maintenance release note that the vulnerability is resolved by the changeset that updates language-file handling and recommend immediate upgrade to version 6.2.1 or later. The referenced Wordfence and Packet Storm entries further detail the patch and provide indicators for detection.
The associated EPSS score reached a peak of 0.7977 with a current value of 0.7928, reflecting sustained exploitation interest after disclosure.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-34206
Vulnerability Data
WordPress Core is vulnerable to Directory Traversal in versions up to, and including, 6.2, via the ‘wp_lang’ parameter. This allows unauthenticated attackers to access and load arbitrary translation files. In cases where an attacker is able to upload a crafted…
more
translation file onto the site, such as via an upload form, this could be also used to perform a Cross-Site Scripting attack.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
—
—
—
V5.3.2
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.
Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.
PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.
Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.
Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.
Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.