Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-47518 is a reflected cross-site scripting issue in the WordPress Restrict Categories plugin, reported for versions up to 2.6.4. An attacker would need a user to interact with a crafted request. The public bundle does not show active exploitation or a named fixed version.
Executive priority
Address promptly on any business WordPress site using this plugin, especially sites with privileged editors or customer-facing content. It is high severity, but current supplied evidence does not show known active exploitation.
Technical view
The source describes unauthenticated reflected XSS, CWE-79, in Matthew Muro's Restrict Categories WordPress plugin <= 2.6.4. CVSS 3.1 is 7.1 with network access, low complexity, no privileges, required user interaction, and changed scope. No affected CPE or vulnerable parameter is provided.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites with the Restrict Categories plugin installed at version 2.6.4 or earlier. Sites without this plugin are not indicated as affected by the supplied sources.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not support active exploitation claims; KEV is false. The vulnerability is remotely reachable but requires user interaction, consistent with reflected XSS risk against logged-in users or visitors.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sparse. Sources identify reflected XSS and CVSS details, but do not provide the vulnerable parameter, exploit proof, fixed version, or normalized CPE. Avoid assuming exploitability beyond user-assisted reflected XSS.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the Restrict Categories plugin.
- Check plugin version and treat <= 2.6.4 as vulnerable.
- Consult vendor or Patchstack guidance for any fixed release.
- Disable or remove the plugin if no maintained fixed version is available.
- Apply compensating web filtering only as temporary risk reduction.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether restrict-categories is installed on each WordPress site.
- Record installed plugin versions and compare against <= 2.6.4.
- Use trusted vulnerability scanning mapped to CVE-2023-47518.
- Review web logs for unusual requests referencing the plugin without reproducing payloads.
- Confirm remediation by rescanning after update, disablement, or removal.
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-2023-47518 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.