Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-0178 affects the Annual Archive WordPress plugin before 1.6.0. A logged-in user with contributor-level access or higher could store malicious script content through shortcode attributes, causing it to run when another user views the affected page or post.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority remediation for affected WordPress estates. It is not cited as actively exploited, but stored XSS can affect administrators or visitors and may support account abuse or content tampering if left unresolved.
Technical view
The plugin failed to validate and escape some shortcode attributes before rendering them into page or post output. This is stored cross-site scripting, CWE-79, with CVSS 3.1 score 5.4. Exploitation requires low privileges and user interaction, with changed scope and limited confidentiality and integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running Annual Archive before 1.6.0, especially where contributor or higher roles can create or edit posts using the plugin shortcode.
Exploitation context
The source bundle cites WPScan with an exploit tag, but CISA KEV is false and no provided source confirms active exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
The public data identifies the vulnerable condition and fixed-version boundary, but vendor attribution and CPE coverage are incomplete in the provided bundle. Validate exposure by plugin presence and version rather than relying on CPE matching alone.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Annual Archive to version 1.6.0 or later.
- Remove or disable the plugin if it is unnecessary.
- Restrict contributor-level posting privileges until remediation is complete.
- Review vendor guidance for any additional hardening advice.
- Review existing shortcode usage for unsafe or unexpected attributes.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress sites for the Annual Archive plugin and version.
- Confirm all instances run version 1.6.0 or later.
- Identify posts or pages containing Annual Archive shortcodes.
- Review contributor-authored content for unexpected script-bearing output.
- Check whether contributor or higher roles are granted only as needed.
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-2023-0178 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/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:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N2.32.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/cc308e15-7937-4d41-809d-74f8c13bee23CVE reference · exploit, vdb-entry
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.