Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a medium-severity CSRF issue in the WordPress Replace Word plugin through version 2.1. A successful attack could make a logged-in site user perform unintended plugin-related actions, affecting integrity or availability. The source bundle does not show active exploitation or a confirmed patch version.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate WordPress plugin maintenance issue. It is not currently evidenced as actively exploited, but exposed sites should be reviewed because CSRF can cause unauthorized changes when trusted users are tricked into interacting.
Technical view
CVE-2023-37973 is a CWE-352 Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerability in David Pokorny's Replace Word WordPress plugin <= 2.1. CVSS 3.1 score is 5.4 with network attack vector, low complexity, no attacker privileges, and required user interaction. Reported impact is low integrity and low availability, with no confidentiality impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites with the Replace Word plugin installed at version 2.1 or earlier. The bundle provides no CPEs or platform fingerprints, so teams should validate exposure from WordPress plugin inventories, not asset scans alone.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not indicate known exploitation, and KEV is false. Exploitation requires user interaction, consistent with CSRF risk. The provided sources do not include exploit details, public weaponization status, or evidence of attacks in the wild.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sparse: the bundle identifies the affected plugin, vulnerability class, CVSS vector, and Patchstack entry, but not a specific vulnerable endpoint, patch version, or exploit status. Avoid assuming broader WordPress or plugin-family exposure beyond Replace Word <= 2.1.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the Replace Word plugin and installed version.
- Check vendor or Patchstack guidance for a fixed version or official remediation.
- Disable or remove the plugin where it is not business-required.
- Prioritize admin-facing WordPress sites with exposed authenticated workflows.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Replace Word is installed on each WordPress instance.
- Record the installed plugin version and compare it to <= 2.1.
- Review WordPress admin roles that can access plugin functionality.
- Check security monitoring for suspicious plugin-setting 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-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 lookupCVE-2023-37973 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:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/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:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L2.82.5Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
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.