CVE-2023-27428
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 · uneditedMissing Authorization vulnerability in Damir Calusic WP users media allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects WP users media: from n/a through 4.2.3.
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 confidenceThe WP Users Media plugin for WordPress versions up to 4.2.3 contains a missing authorization vulnerability allowing authenticated users to access media files belonging to other users due to incorrectly configured access control security levels. This IDOR-style flaw enables privilege escalation within the WordPress user hierarchy.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
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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Verify WP Users Media plugin is installedNavigate to WordPress admin Dashboard > Plugins > Installed Plugins, or inspect the wp-content/plugins/ directory for a folder named 'wp-users-media' or similar. Check the plugin's main PHP file header for the Version line.Affected if The plugin appears in the list of installed plugins and is activated.
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Determine the installed plugin versionIn the Plugins list view, look at the version column next to WP Users Media. Alternatively, open the main plugin file (e.g., wp-users-media.php) and locate the 'Version:' field in the plugin header comment at the top of the file.Affected if The version number is 4.2.3 or lower (the vulnerable versions).
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Confirm media upload functionality is in useCheck if the plugin's media handling features are enabled by visiting the plugin's settings page (usually under Settings > WP Users Media or similar) and verifying that media file assignment to users is configured.Affected if The media access control feature is enabled and users can upload or access media files through the plugin.
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Inspect user role assignments for media accessReview the plugin's role configuration settings to see which WordPress user roles (Subscriber, Contributor, Author, Editor, etc.) are granted permission to access or manage media files belonging to other users.Affected if Lower-privileged roles (such as Subscriber or Contributor) are permitted to access media files, enabling the IDOR flaw.
A user is affected if the WP Users Media plugin is installed with version 4.2.3 or lower and the media access control feature is active, allowing authenticated users to potentially access other users' media files.
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 to the latest patched version of the plugin once available; in the interim, restrict user access to media files via server-level access controls and audit existing user roles.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,544.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-27428 — 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-2023-27428 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