dbcve.org
SpectraWordPress extension · Brainstormforce

CVE-2023-23834

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.3.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Brainstorm Force Spectra allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Spectra: from n/a through 2.3.0.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Missing authorization (broken access control) vulnerability in the Spectra WordPress plugin by Brainstorm Force allows unauthenticated attackers to access privileged functionality due to incorrectly configured access control security levels. The CVSS 9.8 score indicates this is exploitable over the network without any privileges, likely enabling administrative or privileged operations by unauthorized users.

MitigationUpdate Spectra plugin to a version newer than 2.3.0; if immediate update is not possible, restrict access to affected endpoints via server-level authentication or disable the plugin until patched.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
SpectraWordPress extension
Affected:< 2.3.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Spectra plugin is installed
    Check the WordPress plugins directory for the spectra-pro or uwb-spectra folder, or inspect the plugins list via WordPress admin at /wp-admin/plugins.php
    Affected if Spectra plugin is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Identify installed Spectra version
    Read the version from the plugin's main PHP file header (typically wp-content/plugins/spectra-pro/spectra-pro.php or wp-content/plugins/ultimate-addons-for-gutenberg/ultimate-addons-for-gutenberg.php), or from the plugin's readme.txt file
    Affected if Version number is lower than 2.3.1
  3. Confirm plugin is active
    Check WordPress admin plugins page or query the wp_options table for option_name='active_plugins' to verify Spectra is enabled
    Affected if Plugin shows as active in WordPress
  4. Verify no server-level access restrictions
    Review web server configuration (nginx/apache) and any firewall or WAF rules that might be blocking unauthenticated access to wp-json/wp/v2/ or admin-ajax.php endpoints used by the plugin
    Affected if No additional authentication layers are in place to restrict access to Spectra functionality

If Spectra plugin versions below 2.3.1 are installed and active with no compensating server-side access controls, the installation is affected by this authorization bypass vulnerability.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.3.1 or later
Fixed in 2.3.1
Interim mitigation

Update Spectra plugin to a version newer than 2.3.0; if immediate update is not possible, restrict access to affected endpoints via server-level authentication or disable the plugin until patched.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Spectra version 2.3.1 or later

  1. 1. Backup your WordPress site and database before making any changes
  2. 2. Update the Spectra plugin to version 2.3.1 or later through the WordPress admin dashboard (Plugins > Updates)
  3. 3. Alternatively, navigate to Plugins > Add New > Upload and upload the latest version from the WordPress repository
  4. 4. Verify the update was successful by checking the installed version number
  5. 5. Test that the Spectra functionality works correctly after the update
  6. 6. Review user roles and permissions to ensure proper access controls are in place

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Spectra Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-23834 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data