Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-44235 is a captcha bypass issue in the WordPress WP Captcha plugin up to version 2.0.0. A public attacker may bypass intended anti-automation controls. The published impact is medium, with limited confidentiality impact and no stated integrity or availability impact.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority WordPress exposure. It is not documented as actively exploited in the provided sources, but public sites relying on this plugin for anti-automation should be inventoried and remediated promptly.
Technical view
The issue is classified as CWE-307, Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts. The CVSS 3.1 vector is AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N, meaning remotely reachable, low-complexity, unauthenticated exploitation with limited confidentiality impact. Sources do not provide exploit details or a confirmed fixed version.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to WordPress sites running Devnath verma WP Captcha through version 2.0.0, especially where the plugin protects public anti-automation flows. Sites not using this plugin, or using unaffected versions, are not indicated as exposed.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. Patchstack lists the vulnerability publicly, but the provided evidence does not confirm weaponized exploitation, observed attacks, or detailed abuse paths.
Researcher notes
Evidence is thin beyond the CVE metadata and Patchstack entry. Avoid assuming affected workflows, exploit reliability, or fixed versions without vendor confirmation. The key validation task is accurate plugin/version discovery and checking whether the site relies on WP Captcha as a security control.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the WP Captcha plugin.
- Check Patchstack and vendor guidance for an official fix.
- Upgrade only to a vendor-confirmed fixed version.
- Disable or replace the plugin if no supported fix exists.
- Use independent throttling for exposed authentication flows.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed plugin name and version on each WordPress site.
- Compare findings against the affected range through 2.0.0.
- Review security monitoring for unusual repeated form attempts.
- Verify compensating controls do not depend solely on this captcha.
- Document exceptions where vendor guidance remains unavailable.
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-307: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. 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-2023-44235 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
- 5.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N3.91.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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.
Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts
Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.