Security Resilience

CVE-2023-48777

Elementor Website Builder 3.3.0 – 3.18.2

Published
26 March 2024
Modified
28 April 2026
CVSS Score v3.1 9.9
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.041 91th percentile
Risk Priority 94 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-48777 is a critical-severity Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type (CWE-434) vulnerability in Elementor Website Builder. Its CVSS base score is 9.9 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 9% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-3 (Malicious Code Protection) and CM-7 (Least Functionality) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2023-48777 is an unrestricted file upload vulnerability (CWE-434) affecting the Elementor Website Builder plugin for WordPress. It impacts versions 3.3.0 through 3.18.1 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.9, reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, and changed scope with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

An authenticated attacker with low privileges can exploit the flaw to upload files of dangerous types without restriction. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution or other high-impact actions on the affected site due to the plugin's handling of uploaded content.

The associated EPSS score has reached a current value of 0.8884 with a recorded peak of 0.9150, indicating substantial exploitation likelihood. Public references from Patchstack describe the issue as an arbitrary file upload vulnerability in the Elementor plugin at version 3.18.0.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A06:2025 Insecure Design

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type vulnerability in Elementor.Com Elementor Website Builder.This issue affects Elementor Website Builder: from 3.3.0 through 3.18.1.

CWE(s)
CWE-434

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
attack.mitre.org →
T1001.003 Protocol or Service Impersonation Command And Control
Adversaries may impersonate legitimate protocols or web service traffic to disguise command and control activity and thwart analysis efforts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.005 Cached Domain Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access cached domain credentials used to allow authentication to occur in the event a domain controller is unavailable.
attack.mitre.org →
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1011.001 Exfiltration Over Bluetooth Exfiltration
Adversaries may attempt to exfiltrate data over Bluetooth rather than the command and control channel.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2022-1329Same product: Elementor Website Builder
CVE-2024-37437Same product: Elementor Website Builder
CVE-2024-24934Same product: Elementor Website Builder
CVE-2024-4107Same product: Elementor Website Builder
CVE-2024-8236Same product: Elementor Website Builder
CVE-2024-0506Same product: Elementor Website Builder
CVE-2024-5416Same product: Elementor Website Builder
CVE-2024-2117Same product: Elementor Website Builder
CVE-2023-47505Same product: Elementor Website Builder
CVE-2024-4619Same product: Elementor Website Builder

Affected Assets

elementor
website builder
3.3.0 — 3.18.2

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.1.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-3 Malicious Code Protection good match

Malicious-code protection at entry points blocks dangerous file types from being accepted and executed.

CM-7 Least Functionality partial match

Least functionality restricts the file types and automatic processing capabilities the system will accept.

SC-18 Mobile Code partial match

Mobile-code controls define, authorize, and block unacceptable uploaded code before automatic processing occurs.

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.

PR.PS-01 partial match
blocks

Hardened configuration baselines can enforce allowed file types and processing rules.

PR.PS-05 partial match
blocks

Restricting execution of unauthorized software directly blocks dangerous uploaded files from running.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure development practices include input validation and file-type restrictions that prevent this weakness.

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.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.5.25 Assessment and decision on information security events partial match
removes

References