CVE-2023-28536
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 Acato Branded Social Images allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Branded Social Images: from n/a through 1.1.0.
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 confidenceMissing authorization vulnerability in Acato Branded Social Images plugin allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels. The application fails to properly validate user permissions before allowing access to certain functionality or data, enabling unauthorized actions.
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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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.
-
Confirm plugin presenceCheck your WordPress installation for the Acato Branded Social Images plugin in wp-content/plugins/ or via the WordPress admin plugins listAffected if The plugin is installed and active
-
Identify installed versionView the plugin file header (typically main plugin PHP file) or check the WordPress plugins admin page for the version numberAffected if Version cannot be determined or is prior to when the authorization fix was applied
-
Test endpoint access without authenticationAttempt to access common admin-ajax.php actions or plugin-specific endpoints using a non-authenticated or low-privilege user accountAffected if Requests are processed without returning a 401/403 authorization error
-
Verify permission checks on sensitive functionsReview plugin source code for capability checks (current_user_can, wp_verify_nonce, check_ajax_referer) before sensitive operationsAffected if Sensitive functions lack proper authorization validation or capability checks
-
Check access control security level configurationInspect plugin settings pages and configuration files for any security level or access control options that may be misconfiguredAffected if Access control is set to a permissive level allowing unauthorized users to reach admin functionality
You are affected if the Acato Branded Social Images plugin is installed and allows unauthenticated or unauthorized users to access sensitive functionality due to missing permission checks.
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 dataImplement proper authorization checks on all sensitive endpoints and functions, and correct the access control security level configuration to enforce appropriate permission validation.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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 $4,480.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28536 — 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-2023-28536 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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