Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-51403 is a stored cross-site scripting issue in the Nicdark Restaurant Reservations WordPress plugin through version 1.8. A lower-privileged user could store unsafe content that runs in another user's browser when viewed. For businesses, the main risk is account misuse, content tampering, and trust damage on affected restaurant sites.
Executive priority
Treat this as a timely remediation item for affected WordPress sites, not an emergency internet-wide incident. Prioritize public-facing booking sites, sites with many contributor accounts, and environments where WordPress administrator sessions are business-critical.
Technical view
The CVE describes CWE-79 improper input neutralization during web page generation in nd-restaurant-reservations. CVSS 3.1 is 6.5 with network access, low complexity, low privileges, required user interaction, changed scope, and low confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. Sources identify affected versions through 1.8 but do not provide exploit details or a confirmed fixed version.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to WordPress installations running Nicdark Restaurant Reservations through version 1.8. The CVSS vector indicates exploitation requires an authenticated low-privileged actor and another user interaction, so anonymous internet-wide compromise is not supported by the provided evidence.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not indicate active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. The vulnerability class is stored XSS, which can persist in application content and trigger when a victim views the affected page or administrative interface.
Researcher notes
The provided data supports a stored XSS classification and affected range through 1.8, but does not include sink/source details, proof-of-concept material, exploitation evidence, or fixed-version data. Validation should remain non-destructive and focus on inventory, version confirmation, role review, and vendor guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the nd-restaurant-reservations plugin and its version.
- Check Nicdark, WordPress plugin, and Patchstack guidance for a fixed release or vendor workaround.
- If no fix is available, disable or remove vulnerable plugin installations.
- Limit WordPress accounts that can create or modify reservation-related content.
- Review site content for unexpected scripts or unauthorized changes.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Restaurant Reservations is installed and enabled on each WordPress site.
- Verify the installed plugin version is greater than 1.8 before closing exposure.
- Review plugin pages that render user-supplied reservation content for proper output encoding.
- Check WordPress users and roles for unnecessary low-privilege write access.
- Review logs or content history for suspicious saved input around reservation workflows.
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-2023-51403 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
- 6.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L2.33.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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.