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CVE Record

CVE-2020-13644: An issue was discovered in the Accordion plugin before 2.2.9 for WordPress.

An issue was discovered in the Accordion plugin before 2.2.9 for WordPress. The unprotected AJAX wp_ajax_accordions_ajax_import_json action allowed any authenticated user with Subscriber or higher permissions the ability to import a new accordion and inject malicious JavaScript as part of the accordion.

MediumCVSS 5.4Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2020-13644 affects the WordPress Accordion plugin before 2.2.9. A low-privileged logged-in user could import accordion content containing malicious JavaScript. The main business risk is compromise of site visitors or administrators through injected script, not full server takeover by itself.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate-priority web risk. Patch affected WordPress sites promptly, with higher urgency for public sites allowing user registration or many low-privileged accounts.

Technical view

The unprotected AJAX action wp_ajax_accordions_ajax_import_json allowed authenticated users with Subscriber or higher permissions to import a new accordion and include JavaScript. This is consistent with authenticated stored cross-site scripting. CVSS is 5.4 with low privileges required and user interaction required.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running the Accordion plugin before version 2.2.9, especially sites allowing subscriber accounts or other low-privileged logins.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires an authenticated account with Subscriber or higher permissions and a victim interacting with affected content.

Researcher notes

Affected metadata in the bundle is incomplete, but the CVE description identifies Accordion for WordPress before 2.2.9. No CWE is supplied. Avoid assuming broader plugin families or exploit activity beyond the cited sources.

Mitigation direction

  • Update the Accordion plugin to version 2.2.9 or later.
  • Check current vendor guidance before relying on compensating controls.
  • Restrict untrusted subscriber or contributor accounts where possible.
  • Review existing accordion content for unexpected JavaScript.
  • Remove suspicious accordions and rotate credentials if abuse is suspected.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory WordPress sites using the Accordion plugin.
  • Confirm installed plugin versions are 2.2.9 or later.
  • Review WordPress users with Subscriber or higher roles.
  • Inspect accordion entries for unexpected scripts or recent imports.
  • Check web and admin logs for suspicious authenticated activity.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
4

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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CVE-2020-13644 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.4 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AC:L/AV:N/A:N/C:L/I:L/PR:L/S:C/UI:R

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
3Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
5.4CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/AC:L/AV:N/A:N/C:L/I:L/PR:L/S:C/UI:R2.32.7Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

5.4Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2020-13644Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AC:L/AV:N/A:N/C:L/I:L/PR:L/S:C/UI:R

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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