Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a stored cross-site scripting issue in the All in One SEO Pack WordPress plugin through version 4.2.9. An attacker already holding Administrator-level access could save malicious script through plugin parameters, causing it to run for users viewing affected pages. Business impact is constrained by the high privilege requirement but still relevant for compromised admin accounts.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority hygiene and account-security issue. It should be fixed during normal vulnerability remediation windows, faster for externally important WordPress sites or environments with weak admin controls. The main business concern is abuse after administrator credential compromise, not unauthenticated mass exploitation based on the provided evidence.
Technical view
CVE-2023-0585 is CWE-79 caused by insufficient input sanitization and output escaping in multiple parameters of All in One SEO Pack. The CVSS 3.1 score is 4.4, with network access, high attack complexity, high privileges, no user interaction, changed scope, and low confidentiality and integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running All in One SEO Pack versions up to and including 4.2.9. Practical risk is highest where administrator accounts are shared, weakly protected, or recently compromised. Sites not using this plugin, or using later corrected releases, are not indicated as affected by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
The provided bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. Exploitation requires authenticated Administrator-level access or higher, so this is not an unauthenticated internet-wide issue. It can become consequential after admin compromise because the payload is stored and can execute for later page visitors.
Researcher notes
Focus validation on version exposure, stored XSS sinks in referenced Updates.php parameters, and whether the WordPress.org changeset introduced sanitization or escaping corrections. The source bundle identifies the affected range and vulnerability class, but does not provide confirmed exploitation telemetry or detailed patch-release metadata beyond the referenced change history.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for All in One SEO Pack version 4.2.9 or earlier.
- Update the plugin beyond 4.2.9 following WordPress.org or vendor guidance.
- Remove the plugin where it is unused or no longer business-critical.
- Restrict Administrator access and enforce strong MFA for WordPress administrators.
- Review plugin settings and affected pages for unexpected stored scripts.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed plugin versions from WordPress admin or asset inventory.
- Check whether any site still runs All in One SEO Pack 4.2.9 or earlier.
- Review administrator account history for unexpected logins or account changes.
- Inspect recent plugin configuration and page changes for suspicious script content.
- Verify the plugin update remains compatible with SEO-critical site functions.
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-2023-0585 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
- 4.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/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:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N1.32.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3db97180-9308-4891-9de9-acefe31d088f?source=cveCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/all-in-one-seo-pack/tags/4.2.9/app/Common/Main/Updates.php?v=2829340#L624CVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&new=2859011%40all-in-one-seo-pack%2Ftrunk&old=2847431%40all-in-one-seo-pack%2Ftrunk&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=CVE reference
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3db97180-9308-4891-9de9-acefe31d088fCVE reference · x_transferred
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.