CVE-2023-30869
Published: 02 May 2023
Summary
CVE-2023-30869 is a critical-severity Improper Authentication (CWE-287) vulnerability in Awesomemotive Easy Digital Downloads. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, ranked in the top 3.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
CVE-2023-30869 is an improper authentication vulnerability, tracked under CWE-287, that affects the Easy Digital Downloads WordPress plugin in versions 3.1 through 3.1.1.4.1. The flaw permits unauthenticated privilege escalation and carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, reflecting network-accessible attack vectors with no required credentials or user interaction.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue to obtain elevated privileges within the affected WordPress installation, resulting in full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the application and its data.
Public references from Patchstack describe the vulnerability as critical and provide technical details on the unauthenticated privilege-escalation vector, though they do not enumerate specific patch versions or configuration work-arounds beyond the implied need to update the plugin.
EPSS for the CVE rose from low values to a peak of 0.5013 before receding to the current 0.3135, indicating a clear post-disclosure increase in exploitation interest that warrants renewed attention.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-35209
Vulnerability details
Improper Authentication vulnerability in Easy Digital Downloads plugin allows unauth. Privilege Escalation. This issue affects Easy Digital Downloads: from 3.1 through 3.1.1.4.1.
- 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.
Detects unauthorized successful logons resulting from improper authentication implementations.
Documented procedures ensure personnel are trained on authentication mechanisms, tangibly lowering the risk of improper authentication being exploited.
Security awareness training instructs users on secure authentication practices and avoiding credential compromise.
Training on authentication mechanisms and best practices decreases the occurrence of improper authentication.
Non-repudiation requires strong authentication mechanisms to irrefutably attribute performed actions to specific individuals or processes.
Session content review can reveal authentication bypasses or failures in session establishment.
Review of authentication-related audit records can detect improper authentication mechanisms or bypasses.
Assessments check authentication mechanisms for correct implementation and effectiveness, reducing successful authentication bypass attempts.