Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a high-severity access-control flaw in the WordPress Ninja Forms plugin up to version 3.6.25. A logged-in user with Contributor-level access or higher may be able to perform actions they should not be authorized to perform. The main business concern is exposure of sensitive data, with some integrity and availability impact indicated by CVSS.
Executive priority
Treat this as a prompt patching and access-review item for WordPress properties. It is not confirmed as actively exploited in the supplied sources, but the combination of low complexity, authenticated access, and high confidentiality impact makes delay risky on shared-author sites.
Technical view
CVE-2023-38386 is a CWE-862 Missing Authorization issue in Saturday Drive Ninja Forms through 3.6.25. The CVSS 3.1 vector is AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L, meaning remote, low-complexity exploitation requiring a low-privileged account and no user interaction. Public source detail is limited.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to WordPress sites running Ninja Forms version 3.6.25 or earlier, especially sites allowing Contributor or higher accounts. Sites without the plugin, or with versions outside the affected range, are not indicated as affected by the supplied sources.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. It does indicate a remotely reachable, low-complexity issue requiring authenticated low-privileged access. No exploit procedure or vulnerable endpoint details are provided in the supplied sources.
Researcher notes
Public detail in the supplied bundle is sparse. Do not infer specific endpoints, form actions, or data exposed beyond the CWE and CVSS vector. Validation should focus on version exposure, role reachability, and vendor-confirmed remediation status rather than exploit reproduction.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for Ninja Forms version 3.6.25 or earlier.
- Review Saturday Drive and Patchstack guidance for the fixed release.
- Apply the vendor-approved Ninja Forms update when confirmed.
- Restrict unnecessary Contributor-or-higher accounts until remediation is complete.
- Remove or disable the plugin where it is not business-critical.
Validation and detection
- Confirm each WordPress site’s installed Ninja Forms version.
- Verify affected sites no longer run version 3.6.25 or earlier.
- Review user roles for unnecessary Contributor-or-higher access.
- Check administrative and plugin activity logs for unexpected changes.
- Document remediation status for each affected WordPress property.
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-2023-38386 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
- 7.6 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L2.84.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.6HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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.
Missing Authorization
Missing Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.