Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This CVE affects a WordPress plugin used with WPBakery. A logged-in contributor or higher could store malicious script in site content, causing it to run when another user views the affected page. The business risk is moderate, mainly for sites with multiple content contributors or weak account controls.
Executive priority
Treat as a near-term cleanup item for WordPress sites, not an emergency unless untrusted users can create content. Prioritize inventory, access review, and vendor guidance checks.
Technical view
CVE-2023-23681 is authenticated stored XSS in Labib Ahmed Image Hover Effects For WPBakery Page Builder plugin version 4.0 and earlier. The CVSS 3.1 score is 6.5, with low attack complexity, low privileges required, user interaction required, changed scope, and low confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to WordPress sites running image-hover-effects-visual-composer-extension version 4.0 or earlier, especially where contributor-level accounts are available to contractors, customers, or many staff.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not establish active exploitation. The CVE is not listed as KEV in the source bundle. Exploitation requires an authenticated contributor-level or higher user and a victim viewing affected stored content.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE and Patchstack entry. The source bundle identifies authenticated contributor-plus stored XSS but does not provide payload details, fixed-version data, or confirmed exploitation. Avoid assuming broader WPBakery or WordPress core exposure.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for this plugin and installed version.
- Check vendor, WordPress, or Patchstack guidance for a fixed release.
- Disable or remove the plugin if no trusted fixed version is available.
- Restrict contributor-level access to trusted users only.
- Review recent content edits from contributor and editor accounts.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether image-hover-effects-visual-composer-extension is installed.
- Compare installed versions against affected version 4.0 or earlier.
- Identify users with contributor-level or higher publishing access.
- Review pages using the plugin for unexpected scripts or markup.
- Check security monitoring for suspicious WordPress content 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-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-2023-23681 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
- 6.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/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:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L2.33.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
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.