Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability lets an unauthenticated internet user manipulate votes or ratings in the WP Post Rating WordPress plugin. It does not indicate data theft or site takeover, but it can undermine content trust, rankings, and business decisions based on ratings.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate integrity issue. Prioritize sites where ratings affect revenue, reputation, search placement, moderation, or customer trust. It is lower urgency than code execution or data exposure, but should not be ignored on public WordPress properties.
Technical view
CVE-2023-25785 is a missing authorization issue (CWE-862) in Shoaib Saleem WP Post Rating through version 2.5. CVSS 3.1 is 5.3: network-accessible, low complexity, no privileges or user interaction, with limited integrity impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running the affected WP Post Rating plugin. The source bundle does not identify affected CPEs or a confirmed fixed version, so asset owners should verify plugin identity and version directly in WordPress inventories.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability is remotely reachable and unauthenticated, but the documented impact is vote manipulation rather than confidentiality loss or availability disruption.
Researcher notes
The available sources identify missing authorization and functionality misuse, but provide limited implementation detail and no confirmed patch version in the bundle. Avoid assuming exploit activity or remediation specifics beyond validating exposure and following vendor guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for WP Post Rating or wp-post-comment-rating.
- Check vendor, WordPress, or Patchstack guidance for a fixed version.
- Update the plugin if an official fixed release is available.
- Disable or remove the plugin if it is unused or unmaintained.
- Monitor rating data for unusual spikes or manipulation patterns.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether each WordPress site uses the affected plugin.
- Record installed plugin versions and compare against through 2.5.
- Review rating integrity where ratings influence business decisions.
- Check recent logs for abnormal unauthenticated rating activity.
- Document compensating controls if no vendor fix is confirmed.
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-862: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. 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-2023-25785 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
- 5.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N3.91.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Source materials
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.
Missing Authorization
Missing Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.