Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-40672 is a broken access control issue in the WordPress Sticky Social Media Icons plugin. A logged-in low-privilege user may be able to perform plugin actions without proper authorization, causing limited integrity or availability impact. The sources rate it medium severity.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate website hygiene issue. Prioritize sites with public user registration, many low-privilege users, or business-critical WordPress availability. Do not treat it as confirmed actively exploited based on the supplied sources.
Technical view
The CVE describes CWE-862 Missing Authorization in Hardik Chavada Sticky Social Media Icons through version 2.1. CVSS 3.1 is 5.4: network exploitable, low complexity, privileges required, no user interaction, with low integrity and availability impact and no confidentiality impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to WordPress sites that installed Sticky Social Media Icons version 2.1 or earlier. The CVSS vector indicates an attacker needs a valid low-privilege account, reducing broad internet risk but increasing concern on sites with open registration or many contributors.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or any cited active exploitation. Evidence supports a low-complexity authenticated attack path, but the public details provided do not describe exploit maturity, affected functions, or proof-of-concept availability.
Researcher notes
The available source data is sparse. It identifies missing authorization, affected versions through 2.1, and CVSS impact, but not the vulnerable endpoint, fixed version, or exploit details. Avoid assuming a patch exists without checking vendor or Patchstack guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the Sticky Social Media Icons plugin.
- Check vendor and Patchstack guidance for fixed versions or official remediation.
- Disable or remove the plugin where it is not business-critical.
- Limit low-privilege WordPress accounts on affected sites.
- Monitor affected sites for unexpected plugin configuration changes.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Sticky Social Media Icons is installed on each WordPress site.
- Record the installed plugin version and compare it to 2.1 or earlier.
- Review whether public registration or contributor accounts are enabled.
- Check application logs for unusual authenticated plugin-related activity.
- Verify remediation against vendor or Patchstack guidance when available.
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-2023-40672 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:L/UI:N/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:L/UI:N/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:L/UI:N/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.
Missing Authorization
Missing Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.