Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2023-2986 is a critical-severity Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel (CWE-288) vulnerability in Tychesoftwares Abandoned Cart Lite For Woocommerce. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
The Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in versions up to and including 5.14.2. The flaw stems from insufficient encryption when decoding the user identifier supplied via abandoned cart links, as implemented in the plugin's woocommerce-ac.php handling. This permits unauthenticated access to customer accounts that have initiated but not completed a purchase.
Unauthenticated attackers can exploit the issue over the network by crafting or manipulating abandoned cart checkout links to log in as affected users. Successful exploitation grants full access to those accounts, enabling actions such as viewing or modifying personal data, order history, and payment details, consistent with the CVSS 9.8 rating and CWE-288 classification.
Patches introduced in version 5.15.1 add security hardening to invalidate historical checkout links, while version 5.15.2 further addresses cases where null key values could enable the bypass. The referenced plugin changesets and pull request document these updates, and administrators are advised to upgrade promptly to eliminate exposure through legacy links.
The EPSS score has remained near its peak of 0.9225 with a current value of 0.9186, indicating sustained exploitation interest following disclosure.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-34422
Vulnerability Data
The Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in versions up to, and including, 5.14.2. This is due to insufficient encryption on the user being supplied during the abandoned cart link decode through the…
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plugin. This allows unauthenticated attackers to log in as users who have abandoned the cart, who are typically customers. Further security hardening was introduced in version 5.15.1 that ensures sites are no longer vulnerable through historical check-out links, and additional hardening was introduced in version 5.15.2 that ensured null key values wouldn't permit the authentication bypass.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 7 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
V6.4.3V6.6.1V12.1.3
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.
Authorizing remote access reduces the ability to bypass authentication via unauthorized alternate remote channels.
Users can identify logons via alternate paths or channels by reviewing the previous logon time.
Adaptive requirements can apply across access paths, reducing the ability to bypass authentication via alternate channels or paths.
Centralized IdPs close alternate authentication paths that enable bypass.
Enforces authentication for non-organizational users, making it harder to bypass via alternate paths or channels.
Requires authentication to occur exclusively over the isolated trusted path, directly preventing bypass via alternate or untrusted channels.
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.
Requiring authentication on every channel and path directly eliminates alternate-path bypasses.
Enforcing authorizations and least privilege across all access vectors prevents unauthenticated alternate paths.
Protecting networks and environments from unauthorized logical access blocks bypass via undocumented channels.
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.
A.5.15 only requires defining a topic-specific access control policy and determining requirements; it does not itself enforce, implement or configure any access rules that would stop an alternate unauthenticated path from being exploitable.
Access rights provisioning and review prevent bypass via unmonitored or alternate channels.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
- V-248598 There must be no ".shosts" files on the OL 8 operating system. blocks CWE-288
- V-248827 OL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. blocks CWE-288
Oracle Linux 9 (2 rules)
- V-271757 OL 9 file systems must not contain shosts.equiv files. blocks CWE-288
- V-271758 OL 9 file systems must not contain .shosts files. blocks CWE-288
RHEL 7 (3 rules)
- V-204440 Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating systems version 7.2 or newer using Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. blocks CWE-288
- V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. blocks CWE-288
- V-204424 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not allow accounts configured with blank or null passwords. blocks CWE-288