Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A WordPress plugin used for registration/profile shortcodes could let an attacker force a logged-in user into resetting a password through a forged request. The victim must be tricked into an action such as clicking a link. If successful, account access and site integrity could be at risk.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation on public WordPress sites and sites with privileged user access. The issue requires user interaction, but successful exploitation could affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability through account compromise.
Technical view
CVE-2023-5448 is a CSRF issue in WP Register Profile With Shortcode through version 3.5.9. Missing or incorrect nonce validation in update_password_validate allows unauthenticated attackers to trigger password reset behavior when user interaction occurs. CVSS is 8.8 high, mapped to CWE-352.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running WP Register Profile With Shortcode version 3.5.9 or earlier. The provided affected metadata is sparse, so teams should confirm plugin presence and version directly in WordPress inventories.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not listed as CISA KEV in the provided bundle. A cited CleanTalk page indicates public proof-of-concept discussion, but the bundle does not confirm active exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
Focus validation on nonce enforcement in update_password_validate and version confirmation. Do not assume a fixed version from the bundle alone; use vendor release notes or WordPress.org plugin history to confirm remediation.
Mitigation direction
- Identify all WordPress sites using WP Register Profile With Shortcode.
- Upgrade to vendor guidance or a fixed plugin release, if available.
- Disable or remove the plugin where immediate updating is not possible.
- Review WordPress accounts for unexpected password changes.
- Harden admin sessions and require strong account recovery controls.
Validation and detection
- Check plugin inventory for WP Register Profile With Shortcode version 3.5.9 or earlier.
- Review vendor changelog or WordPress Trac changeset 3018102 for the relevant fix.
- Confirm password update requests enforce nonce validation.
- Search logs for unusual password reset activity around affected sites.
- Verify no unauthorized administrator or privileged account changes occurred.
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-352: 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 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-2023-5448 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
- 8.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/ca564941-4780-4da2-b937-c9bd45966d81?source=cveCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3018102CVE reference
- https://research.cleantalk.org/cve-2023-5448-wp-register-profile-with-shortcode-csrf-to-password-reset-poc/CVE reference
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.
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.