Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a low-severity WordPress plugin issue where IP-based filtering in wpdevart Coming soon and Maintenance mode through 3.7.3 can be bypassed by spoofing. The likely impact is limited exposure of functionality or content intended to be restricted during maintenance mode, not site takeover.
Executive priority
Treat as routine but real hygiene work. Prioritize sites where maintenance mode protects unreleased content, staging material, or sensitive operational pages. The available evidence supports low business urgency unless the plugin protects information that would matter if viewed externally.
Technical view
CVE-2023-49741 is an authentication bypass by spoofing, mapped to CWE-290. It affects the Coming soon and Maintenance mode WordPress plugin through 3.7.3. CVSS 3.1 is 3.7: network reachable, high attack complexity, no privileges or user interaction, unchanged scope, and low confidentiality impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites with the wpdevart Coming soon and Maintenance mode plugin at version 3.7.3 or earlier, especially where IP filtering is relied on for access control. Sites not using this plugin or not relying on its IP filtering are not indicated as affected by the bundle.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not identify active exploitation, and KEV is false. The CVSS vector indicates exploitation is network-accessible but high complexity. Public evidence provided here supports a bypass of IP filtering, not arbitrary code execution, privilege escalation, integrity compromise, or availability impact.
Researcher notes
Key evidence is limited to the CVE metadata and Patchstack VDB reference. The issue is described as spoofing-based authentication bypass in IP filtering with low confidentiality impact. No exploit code, patch version, or active exploitation claim is present in the supplied bundle.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the coming-soon-page plugin and installed version.
- Check vendor and Patchstack guidance for fixed versions or official mitigation.
- Upgrade or disable the plugin if vendor guidance recommends that action.
- Avoid relying on plugin IP filtering as the only access control.
- Use server-side or platform-level access controls for sensitive maintenance content.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether the plugin is installed and at version 3.7.3 or earlier.
- Verify whether IP filtering is enabled and used for restricted access.
- Review access logs for unexpected access to maintenance-only content.
- Check the CVE and Patchstack records for updated remediation guidance.
- Document affected sites, owner, version, and remediation status.
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-290: 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 lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-49741 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
- Low
- CVSS
- 3.7 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N2.21.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
3.7LowVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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.
Authentication Bypass by Spoofing
Authentication Bypass by Spoofing represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.