Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability affects the WordPress WP Forms Puzzle Captcha plugin through version 4.1. Attackers may bypass the captcha protection intended to limit automated form abuse. The known impact is limited, but exposed public forms could receive more unwanted submissions or probing if they rely on this plugin as a control.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate web exposure issue. Prioritize sites where public forms support lead generation, account workflows, or sensitive intake, because captcha bypass can undermine abuse prevention even without confirmed system compromise.
Technical view
CVE-2023-48276 is a CWE-307 improper restriction of excessive authentication attempts issue in Nitin Rathod WP Forms Puzzle Captcha through 4.1. The CVSS 3.1 score is 5.3: network exploitable, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, with low confidentiality impact and no stated integrity or availability impact.
Likely exposure
Likely exposure is WordPress sites running WP Forms Puzzle Captcha version 4.1 or earlier, especially public forms where this captcha is used to reduce automated or repeated submissions.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not report active exploitation, and CISA KEV status is false. CVSS indicates unauthenticated network reachability and low attack complexity, but the provided sources do not include exploit details, proof-of-concept status, or observed exploitation.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Patchstack entry. No fixed version, exploit status, or detailed technical root cause is included in the provided bundle, so validation should focus on installed version, exposed form dependency, and vendor advisory monitoring.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for WP Forms Puzzle Captcha installations.
- Check vendor, WordPress plugin, or Patchstack guidance for a fixed version.
- Update, remove, or replace the plugin based on confirmed vendor guidance.
- Use additional anti-abuse controls for exposed forms where business risk is higher.
- Monitor form submissions for unusual automated volume or repeated failures.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether the plugin slug wp-forms-puzzle-captcha is installed.
- Record the installed plugin version and compare it with affected versions through 4.1.
- Identify public forms that rely on this captcha control.
- Review web and form logs for abnormal repeated submissions.
- Track CVE and Patchstack records for new fix or exploit information.
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-2023-48276 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.