Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-38703 is a low-severity stored XSS issue in the WordPress MaxButtons plugin. It affects versions 9.2 and earlier and requires an authenticated administrator-level user. Business urgency is generally low unless untrusted users have admin access or the plugin is used on sensitive WordPress sites.
Executive priority
Treat as routine patching unless the organization grants WordPress admin access broadly or operates sensitive public WordPress properties. Prioritize inventory, access review, and vendor-confirmed update planning.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-79 stored cross-site scripting in Max Foundry's MaxButtons WordPress plugin <= 9.2. CVSS 3.1 is 3.4 with network attack vector, low complexity, high privileges required, user interaction required, changed scope, and low integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running MaxButtons version 9.2 or earlier. Risk is materially lower where administrator access is tightly controlled and monitored.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires authenticated admin-level access and user interaction, so this is more relevant to insider risk, compromised admin accounts, or weak WordPress administration practices.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports affected product, version boundary, CWE, and CVSS. The provided sources do not include exploit details, active exploitation evidence, or a clearly named fixed version, so remediation should be tied to vendor guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites using the MaxButtons plugin.
- Update MaxButtons beyond 9.2 if vendor guidance confirms a fixed release.
- Disable or remove the plugin where it is not required.
- Restrict and review WordPress administrator access.
- Monitor vendor and WordPress plugin pages for remediation guidance.
Validation and detection
- Check each WordPress site for the MaxButtons plugin.
- Confirm the installed plugin version is not 9.2 or earlier.
- Review WordPress admin accounts for unexpected privileged users.
- Review plugin changelog or vendor advisories for fix details.
- Confirm no business-critical site depends on an outdated plugin version.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-79: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-38703 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Low
- CVSS
- 3.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N1.71.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
3.4LowVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/maxbuttons/#developersCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/maxbuttons/wordpress-wordpress-button-plugin-maxbuttons-plugin-9-2-authenticated-stored-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability/_s_id=cveCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.