Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A WordPress site using GiveWP through version 2.33.3 could be tricked into installing and activating the SendWP plugin if an administrator clicks a malicious link. This is not a direct server compromise, but it changes site state without proper administrator intent.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority WordPress hygiene issue. Prioritize public donation sites and sites with many administrators, because successful abuse can alter plugin state, but the available evidence does not indicate active exploitation or direct data theft.
Technical view
CVE-2023-4246 is a CWE-352 CSRF flaw in GiveWP's give_sendwp_remote_install_handler due to missing or incorrect nonce validation. The attacker is unauthenticated, but exploitation requires administrator interaction. The documented impact is integrity-only: installing and activating SendWP through a forged request.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running GiveWP versions up to and including 2.33.3. Sites without GiveWP, or with versions newer than the vulnerable range, are not indicated as affected by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. Practical exploitation requires social engineering a site administrator into taking an action, such as clicking a link, while the vulnerable plugin is present.
Researcher notes
The key weakness is missing or incorrect nonce validation in give_sendwp_remote_install_handler. The CVSS vector is AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N, matching unauthenticated CSRF with required administrator interaction and limited integrity impact.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites running GiveWP and identify versions up to 2.33.3.
- Update GiveWP to a vendor-supported version newer than the vulnerable range.
- Check WordPress plugin guidance for any additional vendor remediation notes.
- Review whether SendWP was unexpectedly installed or activated.
- Restrict administrator exposure to untrusted links until affected sites are updated.
Validation and detection
- Confirm GiveWP version is not 2.33.3 or older on each site.
- Review installed plugins for unexpected SendWP presence or activation.
- Check administrative logs for plugin installation or activation around suspicious admin activity.
- Verify plugin-management actions require proper nonce validation after updating.
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-2023-4246 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:N/UI:R/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:N/UI:R/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:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/dc5c511f-dc79-468b-a107-cdf50999faf8?source=cveCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/give/trunk/includes/admin/misc-functions.php?rev=2772225#L258CVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&new=2974851%40give%2Ftrunk&old=2973080%40give%2Ftrunk&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=CVE 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.
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.