Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a stored cross-site scripting flaw in a WordPress plugin. A logged-in user with Contributor-level access or higher could save malicious script through the plugin’s shortcode or post metadata. That script may run for visitors who open the affected page, risking account actions or data exposure in the browser context.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate web application risk. Prioritize it for WordPress sites with multiple content contributors, customer-facing pages, or privileged admin sessions. It is less urgent than unauthenticated remote compromise, but stored XSS can support account abuse and reputational harm.
Technical view
CVE-2023-6982 affects Display custom fields in the frontend – Post and User Profile Fields up to and including 1.2.1. The issue is CWE-79 caused by insufficient sanitization and output escaping of user-controlled shortcode attributes and postmeta for vg_display_data. CVSS 3.1 is 6.4, network-reachable with low privileges required.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites using this specific plugin at vulnerable versions and permitting Contributor or higher users to submit relevant content or metadata. Sites without the plugin, without untrusted content authors, or with a fixed vendor version are less likely exposed.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show KEV listing or other evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability is still important because stored XSS persists in site content and can execute when another user views the injected page, without additional visitor interaction described by the CVSS vector.
Researcher notes
The supplied evidence names the vulnerable component, vector, privilege requirement, and WordPress changeset reference. Patch status is not fully stated in the bundle, so do not assume a specific fixed version without checking vendor or WordPress plugin guidance. No exploitation-in-the-wild evidence is provided.
Mitigation direction
- Identify whether the plugin is installed and its exact version.
- Update using official WordPress plugin or vendor guidance if a fixed version is available.
- Disable or remove the plugin if it is not required.
- Restrict Contributor, Author, and Editor access to trusted accounts only.
- Review pages using vg_display_data for unexpected content or attributes.
Validation and detection
- Check WordPress plugin inventory for versions up to and including 1.2.1.
- Review posts, pages, and metadata that use the plugin shortcode.
- Confirm role assignments for all users with Contributor-level or higher permissions.
- Verify output escaping behavior after updating or applying vendor guidance.
- Review security logs for suspicious content edits by authenticated users.
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-2023-6982 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
- 6.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/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:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N3.12.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3077b84e-87af-4307-83c5-0e4b15d07ff1?source=cveCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=3021133%40shortcode-to-display-post-and-user-data&new=3021133%40shortcode-to-display-post-and-user-data&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=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.