Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A low-privileged WordPress user could change site-wide settings through vulnerable ProfileGrid versions up to 5.5.1. That can lead to privilege escalation and broader site compromise. The issue is serious when subscriber registration is open or many untrusted accounts exist.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority for any WordPress site with ProfileGrid and open registration. Remediate promptly, but do not claim active exploitation unless separate telemetry or vendor intelligence supports it.
Technical view
CVE-2023-3713 is a CWE-862 missing capability check in ProfileGrid's profile_magic_check_smtp_connection function. Authenticated subscriber-level users could update WordPress options arbitrarily. The CVSS 3.1 score is 8.8, with low attack complexity, no user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to WordPress sites running ProfileGrid - User Profiles, Groups and Communities versions up to and including 5.5.1, especially where subscriber accounts are available to untrusted users.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. The bug is still high risk because authenticated subscriber access is commonly available on community or membership sites.
Researcher notes
The core authorization flaw is a missing capability check around profile_magic_check_smtp_connection. Public references include the vulnerable code location and a WordPress plugin Trac changeset, but the bundle does not provide safe exploit status or detailed vendor remediation text.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory all WordPress sites for the ProfileGrid plugin and installed version.
- Upgrade away from versions up to 5.5.1 using official plugin guidance.
- Temporarily restrict untrusted subscriber registrations until remediation is confirmed.
- Review low-privileged account lists for unexpected or suspicious users.
- Audit WordPress options and administrator accounts for unauthorized changes.
Validation and detection
- Confirm ProfileGrid is absent or newer than the affected version range.
- Review plugin code or changelog for the added capability check.
- Check WordPress user roles for unauthorized privilege changes.
- Review recent option changes and admin account creation around exposure windows.
- Confirm no business-critical site relies on the vulnerable plugin version.
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 lookupPrivilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-3713 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
- High
- CVSS
- 8.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/473ba791-af99-4aae-99cb-ccf220e443e7?source=cveCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities/tags/5.4.8/admin/class-profile-magic-admin.php#L599CVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/2938904/profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities#file0CVE 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.
Missing Authorization
Missing Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.