Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-1273 affects the ND Shortcodes WordPress plugin before version 7.0. Authenticated users, including subscribers, may be able to trigger local file inclusion through unvalidated shortcode attributes. For businesses, the concern is exposure on WordPress sites that allow low-privilege accounts.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for public WordPress sites with user accounts. The bug is low-privilege authenticated, but LFI in a plugin can create meaningful data exposure and operational risk.
Technical view
The plugin fails to validate some shortcode attributes before using them to build paths passed to include functions. This maps to CWE-22 path traversal and can allow subscriber-level authenticated users to perform LFI. The provided sources do not include CVSS scoring.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to WordPress sites running ND Shortcodes before 7.0, especially sites with subscriber registration, customer accounts, memberships, or compromised low-privilege users.
Exploitation context
The source bundle includes a WPScan vulnerability entry tagged as exploit, but CISA KEV is false and no cited source states active exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and WPScan reference. The affected boundary is ND Shortcodes before 7.0; do not broaden scope without confirming plugin identity and version.
Mitigation direction
- Update ND Shortcodes to version 7.0 or later.
- Disable or remove the plugin if immediate updating is not possible.
- Review vendor and WordPress plugin guidance for current remediation details.
- Limit and audit subscriber-level accounts on affected WordPress sites.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress sites for the ND Shortcodes plugin.
- Confirm installed versions are 7.0 or later, or that the plugin is absent.
- Check whether public registration or subscriber accounts are enabled.
- Review application logs for unusual include errors or shortcode-related anomalies.
- Document any affected sites and remediation status.
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-22: File access and web shell behavior lookup
File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. 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-2023-1273 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
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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 and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/0805ed7e-395d-48de-b484-6c3ec1cd4b8eCVE 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 Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.