CVE-2023-32243
Published: 12 May 2023
Summary
CVE-2023-32243 is a critical-severity Improper Authentication (CWE-287) vulnerability in Wpdeveloper Essential Addons For Elementor. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, ranked in the top 0.2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis
CVE-2023-32243 is an improper authentication flaw, tracked as CWE-287, that permits privilege escalation in the Essential Addons for Elementor WordPress plugin. The vulnerability affects versions 5.4.0 through 5.7.1 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8, reflecting network-exploitable conditions with no required credentials or user interaction.
Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit the issue to obtain elevated privileges within the WordPress installation. Public proof-of-concept material demonstrates that this can be leveraged for arbitrary password resets, enabling full administrative takeover of affected sites.
Advisories from Patchstack note that the plugin has more than one million installations and recommend prompt application of the vendor-supplied update that resolves the authentication bypass. The associated EPSS score remains elevated at 0.9351 with a recorded peak of 0.9366, consistent with sustained exploitation interest following disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-36500
Vulnerability details
Improper Authentication vulnerability in WPDeveloper Essential Addons for Elementor allows Privilege Escalation. This issue affects Essential Addons for Elementor: from 5.4.0 through 5.7.1.
- 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.