Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-39993 is a broken access control issue in the WordPress ElementsKit Lite plugin through version 2.9.0. A logged-in user could perform an action that should have required stronger authorization. The documented impact is limited integrity loss, not data theft or service outage.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate WordPress risk. It is not currently documented as actively exploited, but affected public sites with many user accounts should be remediated promptly because authorization failures can enable unauthorized changes.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-862 Missing Authorization in Wpmet Elements kit Elementor addons, package elementskit-lite, affecting versions through 2.9.0. CVSS 3.1 is 4.3: network reachable, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, and low integrity impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to WordPress sites running ElementsKit Lite or Elements kit Elementor addons at version 2.9.0 or earlier, especially where untrusted authenticated users have accounts.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. The CVSS vector indicates exploitation requires authenticated low-privilege access and does not require user interaction.
Researcher notes
Public details in the provided bundle are sparse. The exact vulnerable endpoint, action, and fixed version are not included here, so validation should focus on product/version exposure and vendor advisory review rather than exploit reproduction.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the elementskit-lite plugin and installed version.
- Prioritize sites allowing public registration or many low-privilege users.
- Check Wpmet or Patchstack guidance for the fixed release or vendor mitigation.
- Disable or remove the plugin where unnecessary until vendor guidance is applied.
- Monitor affected sites for unauthorized content, settings, or plugin changes.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether ElementsKit Lite is installed on each WordPress site.
- Record plugin versions and flag version 2.9.0 or earlier.
- Review WordPress user roles for broad low-privilege account access.
- Check web and application logs for unexpected authenticated changes.
- Verify vendor guidance has been applied after remediation.
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-2023-39993 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
- 4.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N2.81.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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.