Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-6962

Joomunited Wp Meta Seo ≤ 4.5.13

Published
02 May 2024
Modified
08 April 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0044 36th percentile
Risk Priority 44 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-6962 is a medium-severity Exposure of Sensitive Information Through Metadata (CWE-1230) vulnerability in Joomunited Wp Meta Seo. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Unsecured Credentials (T1552); ranked at the 36th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-4 (Information Flow Enforcement) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The WP Meta SEO plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 4.5.12 via the meta description. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to disclose potentially sensitive information via the meta…

more

description of password-protected posts.

CWE(s)
CWE-1230CWE-922

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1552 Unsecured Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may search compromised systems to find and obtain insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Access
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1552.004 Private Keys Credential Access
Adversaries may search for private key certificate files on compromised systems for insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1552.006 Group Policy Preferences Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to find unsecured credentials in Group Policy Preferences (GPP).
attack.mitre.org →
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
attack.mitre.org →
T1025 Data from Removable Media Collection
Adversaries may search connected removable media on computers they have compromised to find files of interest.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-45455Same product: Joomunited Wp Meta Seo
CVE-2023-1027Same product: Joomunited Wp Meta Seo
CVE-2023-1028Same product: Joomunited Wp Meta Seo
CVE-2023-1022Same product: Joomunited Wp Meta Seo
CVE-2023-6961Same product: Joomunited Wp Meta Seo
CVE-2023-1023Same product: Joomunited Wp Meta Seo
CVE-2023-1381Same product: Joomunited Wp Meta Seo
CVE-2023-1026Same product: Joomunited Wp Meta Seo
CVE-2023-1024Same product: Joomunited Wp Meta Seo
CVE-2024-45456Same product: Joomunited Wp Meta Seo

Affected Assets

joomunited
wp meta seo
≤ 4.5.13

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 4 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V3.4.2
  • V12.1.5
  • V13.3.2
  • V14.2.4

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

AC-3 Access Enforcement good match

Enforces approved authorizations for logical access to stored information, directly stopping unauthorized read/write.

SC-28 Protection of Information at Rest good match

Requires protection of confidentiality/integrity for information at rest, directly addressing insecure storage.

AC-4 Information Flow Enforcement good match

Information flow enforcement can be configured to treat metadata as protected information and block its unauthorized release.

AC-6 Least Privilege good match

Limits privileges so only authorized accesses to sensitive stored data are permitted.

AC-16 Security and Privacy Attributes partial match

Associating and enforcing security/privacy attributes on objects directly governs what metadata may be exposed.

SC-16 Transmission of Security and Privacy Attributes partial match

Requiring security attributes to accompany transmitted data prevents sensitive values from leaking through metadata 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.

ID.AM-07 mostly match
prevents

Explicit inventorying of metadata enables identification and subsequent protection of sensitive derived information.

PR.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

Least-privilege access policies applied to metadata directly prevent unauthorized exposure of sensitive derived data.

PR.DS-01 mostly match
prevents

Directly protects data-at-rest confidentiality via encryption or access controls that prevent unauthorized reads.

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.5.12 Classification of information partial match
mitigates

Classification helps identify metadata that may need protection, but does not directly limit its exposure.

A.5.13 Labelling of information partial match
mitigates

Labelling can flag sensitive metadata, yet does not enforce technical controls to prevent its disclosure.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
degrades

Transfer policies can require stripping or protecting metadata, but coverage is indirect.

A.5.15 Access control partial match
mitigates

Access-control rules can be extended to metadata objects, though the control is not metadata-specific.

A.8.11 Data masking partial match
mitigates

Data-masking techniques can obscure sensitive metadata values, providing partial mitigation.

A.8.12 Data leakage prevention partial match
finds

DLP solutions can detect and block metadata leakage, yet are not designed solely for this weakness.

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` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Windows Server 2016 (2 rules)
  • V-224973 The Active Directory Domain Controllers Organizational Unit (OU) object must have the proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-922
  • V-224974 Domain-created Active Directory Organizational Unit (OU) objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-922
Windows Server 2019 (1 rule)
  • V-205743 Windows Server 2019 organization created Active Directory Organizational Unit (OU) objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-922

References