Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This WordPress plugin flaw lets any logged-in user with subscriber-level access or higher change Wicked Folders' folder structure, a function intended for administrators. It does not indicate data theft, but it can disrupt site content organization and workflows on affected sites.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority WordPress maintenance issue. Prioritize sites with many user accounts, customer logins, contributors, or weak account controls because exploitation requires an authenticated user.
Technical view
CVE-2023-0718 is a missing authorization issue, CWE-862, in Wicked Folders' ajax_save_folder function through version 2.18.16. The CVSS 3.1 score is 5.4, reflecting low-complexity network access requiring authenticated privileges, with low integrity and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites using Wicked Folders version 2.18.16 or earlier where untrusted or compromised subscriber-level accounts exist. Anonymous visitors are not described as able to exploit it.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or other evidence of active exploitation. The attack requires authentication, low privileges, and no user interaction, making account hygiene and plugin versioning the main risk factors.
Researcher notes
The core issue is missing capability enforcement in an AJAX handler. Reported impact is limited to modifying the plugin-maintained folder structure, with no confidentiality impact stated. Evidence is strong for affected scope, but exploit-in-the-wild evidence is not provided.
Mitigation direction
- Identify all WordPress sites using Wicked Folders.
- Move affected installations off version 2.18.16 or earlier per vendor guidance.
- If no safe update is available, disable the plugin until guidance is confirmed.
- Restrict subscriber-level accounts to trusted users only.
- Review recent folder-structure changes for unexpected modifications.
Validation and detection
- Check installed Wicked Folders versions across WordPress environments.
- Confirm affected sites are not running version 2.18.16 or earlier.
- Verify low-privilege users cannot save or modify plugin folder structures.
- Review WordPress roles for unnecessary subscriber-level accounts.
- Monitor admin activity logs for unusual folder organization changes.
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-862: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. 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 lookupPrivilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-0718 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:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
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:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L2.82.5Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/2c26d6de-5653-4be8-9526-39b30cb61625?source=cveCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wicked-folders/tags/2.18.16/lib/class-wicked-folders-ajax.phpCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&new=2860994%40wicked-folders%2Ftrunk&old=2805161%40wicked-folders%2Ftrunk&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=CVE reference
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/2c26d6de-5653-4be8-9526-39b30cb61625CVE 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.
Missing Authorization
Missing Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.