Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-45045 is a broken access control issue in the WordPress WP Custom Widget area plugin through version 1.2.5. A logged-in user with low privileges may be able to perform actions they should not be authorized to perform, causing limited integrity and availability impact.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority WordPress plugin exposure. It is not confirmed as actively exploited, but it affects authorization controls and can matter on public sites with multiple user accounts.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-862 Missing Authorization in krozero WP Custom Widget area, package wp-custom-widget-area. CVSS 3.1 is 5.4: network reachable, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, no confidentiality impact, low integrity and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites using WP Custom Widget area version 1.2.5 or earlier. Sites with many low-privilege users, customer accounts, contributors, or weak account governance have higher practical risk.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or other evidence of active exploitation. The CVSS vector indicates exploitation requires network access and low privileges, with no user interaction.
Researcher notes
Public evidence is limited in the supplied bundle. The affected range is described as through 1.2.5, but no specific fixed version, exploit details, or workaround is provided. Validate exposure through plugin inventory, not assumptions.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the WP Custom Widget area plugin.
- Check the installed plugin version and flag versions 1.2.5 or earlier.
- Review Patchstack, CVE, and vendor guidance for a fixed release or workaround.
- Disable or remove the plugin if no maintained fixed version is available.
- Reduce unnecessary WordPress accounts and privileges until remediation is complete.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether wp-custom-widget-area is installed on each WordPress site.
- Verify the exact plugin version from WordPress administration or asset inventory.
- Review user roles that can access plugin-related functionality.
- Check logs for unusual authenticated changes involving widgets or plugin settings.
- Track remediation evidence against affected site inventory.
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-2023-45045 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.