Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A WordPress plugin used for store-locator pages allowed trusted-but-lower-privileged users to save malicious script through shortcode attributes. If a site has the vulnerable Locatoraid Store Locator plugin and contributor-level users can create content, visitors or admins viewing affected pages could have browser actions or data exposed.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority web risk. It is unlikely to justify emergency shutdown by itself, but should be patched promptly on WordPress sites with multiple authors, contractors, or externally managed content access.
Technical view
CVE-2023-2031 is stored cross-site scripting in Locatoraid Store Locator up to and including 3.9.14. The issue is insufficient input sanitization and output escaping for shortcode attributes. Authenticated attackers with Contributor or higher privileges can inject scripts that run when an injected page is viewed. CVSS v3.1 score is 5.4.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running Locatoraid Store Locator versions up to 3.9.14, especially where Contributor or higher accounts are available to untrusted users. Public reachability of affected pages increases impact, but exploitation requires authenticated content privileges.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The attack path is authenticated stored XSS through plugin shortcode attributes, not unauthenticated remote compromise. Business risk is higher on multi-author WordPress sites or sites with weak account governance.
Researcher notes
The key evidence points to shortcode handling in Locatoraid frontend rendering and a WordPress plugin Trac changeset. The bundle does not provide exploit telemetry, weaponized examples, or a named fixed release, so avoid claiming exploitation or a specific patch version without vendor confirmation.
Mitigation direction
- Update Locatoraid Store Locator beyond version 3.9.14 if an updated release is available.
- Check vendor and WordPress plugin guidance for the exact fixed version.
- Restrict Contributor or higher WordPress roles to trusted users only.
- Review existing Locatoraid shortcodes in posts and pages for suspicious attributes.
- Remove or sanitize untrusted content created by affected accounts.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress sites using Locatoraid Store Locator.
- Confirm whether any installed version is 3.9.14 or earlier.
- Identify accounts with Contributor, Author, Editor, or Administrator roles.
- Review posts and pages containing Locatoraid shortcodes.
- Verify remediation in staging before returning broad content permissions.
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-2023-2031 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: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:L/UI:N/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:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/dba0a90b-f13c-4914-b6b7-278227ffc122?source=cveCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/locatoraid/trunk/modules/front/view_shortcode.php#L4CVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/2900106/locatoraidCVE reference
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.