Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This WordPress plugin issue lets an attacker abuse an administrator’s active session if the administrator is tricked into clicking a malicious link or visiting a hostile page. The likely impact is unauthorized changes to Wicked Folders’ folder structure, not full site takeover based on the supplied sources.
Executive priority
Address during the next normal WordPress maintenance cycle, sooner for high-value sites with many administrators. The issue is moderate because exploitation needs administrator interaction and documented impact is limited, but it still affects content-management integrity.
Technical view
CVE-2023-0725 is a CSRF flaw in Wicked Folders through version 2.18.16. The ajax_clone_folder function lacked proper nonce validation, allowing unauthenticated attackers to trigger administrator-intended folder actions when a logged-in administrator performs attacker-influenced interaction. CVSS is 5.4, with required user interaction.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites using Wicked Folders versions up to and including 2.18.16. The attacker does not need an account, but must induce a logged-in administrator to take an action. Sites without this plugin or with unaffected versions are not indicated as exposed by the bundle.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation depends on social engineering and a valid administrator session. The documented outcome is manipulation of the plugin-maintained folder structure, with low confidentiality and integrity impact in the CVSS vector.
Researcher notes
Focus validation on nonce enforcement for ajax_clone_folder and version lineage around the referenced WordPress Trac changeset. The bundle does not provide exploit-in-the-wild evidence or a clearly named fixed version, so remediation should track current vendor repository guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for Wicked Folders and record installed plugin versions.
- Update Wicked Folders according to vendor or WordPress plugin repository guidance.
- Treat versions up to 2.18.16 as vulnerable until verified otherwise.
- If update is unavailable, consider disabling the plugin where business impact allows.
- Remind administrators not to follow untrusted links while authenticated to WordPress.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Wicked Folders is installed on each WordPress property.
- Verify installed versions are not at or below 2.18.16.
- Review whether ajax_clone_folder enforces valid nonce checks in deployed code.
- In staging, confirm clone-folder requests fail without valid administrator nonce protection.
- Review admin activity for unexpected folder structure 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-352: 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-2023-0725 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:N/UI:R/S:U/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:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N2.82.5Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/80797183-c69f-4dce-a2e0-52a395ceffaa?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/80797183-c69f-4dce-a2e0-52a395ceffaaCVE 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.
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.