UserproWordPress extension · Userproplugin
CVE-2023-2438
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 · uneditedThe UserPro plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in versions up to, and including, 5.1.0. This is due to missing or incorrect nonce validation on the 'userpro_save_userdata' function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to update the user meta and inject malicious JavaScript via a forged request, granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking on a link.
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 · high confidenceThe UserPro WordPress plugin versions up to 5.1.0 lack proper nonce validation on the 'userpro_save_userdata' function, allowing unauthenticated attackers to forge requests that modify user metadata and inject malicious JavaScript through stored XSS, provided they can socially engineer a site administrator into clicking a malicious link.
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
UserproWordPress extension
<= 5.1.0CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate the UserPro plugin versionAccess the WordPress admin dashboard under Plugins > Installed Plugins and locate UserPro, or inspect the main plugin file (typically /wp-content/plugins/userpro/includes/functions.php or similar) to read the plugin header comment containing the Version fieldAffected if The displayed version is 5.1.0 or lower
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Verify the plugin is activeCheck if UserPro appears in the WordPress admin Plugins list with an 'Active' status, or query the wp_options table for the active_plugins optionAffected if The plugin is installed and active on the WordPress site
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Inspect the userpro_save_userdata functionOpen the plugin source file containing the userpro_save_userdata function (commonly in /wp-content/plugins/userpro/includes/ or /wp-content/plugins/userpro/functions/) and search for the function definitionAffected if The function exists and does not contain a call to wp_verify_nonce, check_admin_referer, or wp_nonce_field within the first several lines of the function
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Confirm the function is accessible without authenticationReview the code to determine if the userpro_save_userdata function is hooked to an action that can be reached without authentication (such as init, admin_init, or a wp_ajax_nopriv_ hook), and check if there are any capability checks or login requirements before processingAffected if The function can be reached via a publicly accessible WordPress AJAX endpoint or action without requiring authentication
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Check for existing XSS payloads in user metadataQuery the wp_usermeta table for suspicious meta_key values or unusual meta_value entries containing script tags, iframe tags, or javascript: URIs, or use WordPress admin to view user profiles for any injected JavaScriptAffected if User metadata contains unsanitized script tags or event handlers indicating prior exploitation
A site is affected if the UserPro plugin version is 5.1.0 or lower, the plugin is active, and the userpro_save_userdata function lacks nonce verification and is accessible without authentication.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataUpdate UserPro to version 5.1.1 or later which includes proper nonce validation, or implement WordPress nonce checks (wp_verify_nonce) on the userpro_save_userdata function to prevent CSRF attacks.
Fix this in Userpro
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-2438 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-2438 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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