Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A WordPress plugin used to organize content folders allowed forged administrator actions because a security token check was missing or incorrect. An attacker would need to trick a logged-in site administrator into taking an action, such as clicking a link. The reported impact is limited confidentiality and integrity, with no availability impact.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority WordPress hygiene issue. It is not described as actively exploited in the provided sources, but exposed admin workflows can still create content-management disruption or unauthorized changes. Remediate during the next maintenance window, sooner for public-facing or high-value sites.
Technical view
CVE-2023-0727 is a CSRF issue in Wicked Folders through 2.18.16. The ajax_delete_folder handler lacked proper nonce validation, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to induce an authenticated administrator’s browser to perform plugin folder-structure changes. CVSS is 5.4 medium, vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running Wicked Folders at version 2.18.16 or earlier. The attack requires a logged-in administrator to interact with attacker-controlled content, so risk is higher for sites with active admin sessions and broad administrator browsing exposure.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction by an administrator and abuses CSRF rather than direct unauthenticated compromise. The documented impact centers on actions intended for administrators, such as changing plugin-managed folder structure.
Researcher notes
Primary evidence identifies missing or incorrect nonce validation in ajax_delete_folder. The changeset reference appears relevant to remediation, but the provided bundle does not include a plain fixed-version statement beyond the title’s affected range. Avoid claiming active exploitation without additional evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for Wicked Folders versions at or below 2.18.16.
- Check vendor or WordPress plugin guidance for the corrected release and upgrade promptly.
- Disable or remove the plugin where it is not operationally required.
- Limit administrator browsing while logged in until remediation is complete.
- Review administrator accounts and remove unnecessary elevated WordPress access.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed Wicked Folders versions across all WordPress sites.
- Verify ajax_delete_folder requests require valid nonce protection after remediation.
- Review WordPress audit logs for unexpected folder-structure changes.
- Confirm administrators cannot trigger plugin changes from unauthenticated external requests.
- Document affected sites, remediation dates, and remaining exceptions.
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-2023-0727 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/62b56928-7125-4211-b233-07b5b51881c1?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/62b56928-7125-4211-b233-07b5b51881c1CVE 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.