Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A WordPress site using the User Avatar plugin at version 1.4.11 or earlier may expose visitors or administrators to reflected cross-site scripting. An attacker would need to get a user to interact with crafted content, but successful execution could affect the user's browser session and site trust.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority web hygiene issue for WordPress estates, especially sites with administrator traffic or customer-facing trust requirements. It is not confirmed as actively exploited in the provided sources, but the unauthenticated XSS rating justifies prompt inventory and remediation.
Technical view
The sources describe an unauthenticated reflected XSS issue, CWE-79, in the User Avatar WordPress plugin through 1.4.11. CVSS 3.1 is 7.1 with network access, low complexity, no privileges, required user interaction, and changed scope. The bundle does not provide vulnerable parameter details or a confirmed fixed version.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to WordPress installations with the User Avatar plugin installed and running version 1.4.11 or earlier. The bundle has limited product metadata, so confirm the exact plugin slug and installed version during inventory.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not listed as CISA KEV in the provided bundle, and no cited source states active exploitation. The risk depends on user interaction, but unauthenticated reflected XSS can still be meaningful if administrators or authenticated users are targeted.
Researcher notes
The public bundle confirms class, affected plugin, version threshold, CVSS vector, and Patchstack reference, but lacks proof-of-concept details, vulnerable endpoint, and fixed-version confirmation. Avoid assuming exploitation or remediation specifics beyond vendor guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the User Avatar plugin and installed version.
- Check vendor or Patchstack guidance for a fixed release or official mitigation.
- Upgrade if a fixed version is available from trusted plugin sources.
- Disable or remove the plugin where it is unused or cannot be safely updated.
- Review WAF or security plugin coverage as temporary defense only.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any site runs User Avatar version 1.4.11 or earlier.
- Verify plugin identity against the WordPress package name user-avatar.
- Check security scanner results against CVE-2023-46621 or Patchstack’s entry.
- Review access logs for suspicious requests only at a high level.
- Validate remediation by confirming the vulnerable version is no longer deployed.
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-79: 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-2023-46621 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
- High
- CVSS
- 7.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/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:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L2.83.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.1HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/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.
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.