Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
POST SMTP Mailer for WordPress before 2.5.7 could let an attacker trick a privileged logged-in user into resending an email to an attacker-controlled address. If that email is a password reset message, account takeover may be possible.
Executive priority
Treat as urgent for WordPress sites using this plugin because the plausible business impact is account takeover. Prioritize patching and log review, especially on externally reachable or high-value sites.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-352 CSRF in some AJAX actions. A victim with the manage_postman_smtp capability can be induced to resend mail to an arbitrary address. The source bundle identifies versions before 2.5.7 as affected and specifically lists 2.5.0.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites using POST SMTP Mailer before 2.5.7, where users have the manage_postman_smtp capability. The bundle does not identify affected CPEs or a known vendor name.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. WPScan is tagged as an exploit reference, but the provided sources do not prove exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
Evidence is concise but clear on the flaw class and abuse outcome. Public data lacks CVSS, CPEs, detailed affected range beyond before 2.5.7, and confirmed in-the-wild exploitation evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Update POST SMTP Mailer to version 2.5.7 or later.
- Review vendor and WPScan guidance for current fixed versions.
- Restrict manage_postman_smtp capability to necessary trusted administrators.
- Audit recent password reset emails and unexpected mail resends.
- Consider disabling the plugin until updated if exposure is unacceptable.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress sites using POST SMTP Mailer.
- Confirm installed plugin versions are 2.5.7 or later.
- Identify users or roles with manage_postman_smtp capability.
- Review mail logs for reset emails sent to unexpected addresses.
- Verify patched AJAX actions enforce CSRF protection.
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 lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-3179 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/542caa40-b199-4397-90bb-4fdb693ebb24CVE 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.
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.