Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2023-39305

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Dash Labs Yet Another Stars Rating yet-another-stars-rating allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Yet Another Stars Rating: from n/a through <= 3.4.3.

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 confidence

Missing Authorization vulnerability in the WordPress plugin 'Yet Another Stars Rating' allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially enabling unauthorized access to functionality due to missing capability checks or nonce validation on certain AJAX or REST API endpoints.

MitigationUpdate to the latest version of Yet Another Stars Rating plugin when available, and implement proper authorization checks (current_user_can() and nonce verification) on all sensitive endpoints.

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 checks

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

  1. Verify YASR plugin installation and version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins, locate 'Yet Another Stars Rating' (YASR), and note the installed version number. Alternatively, check the plugin files in wp-content/plugins/yet-another-stars-rating/ folder for a version indicator.
    Affected if The installed version is any version prior to the patched release and the plugin is active.
  2. Identify accessible AJAX endpoints
    Examine the plugin directory for registered AJAX actions by reviewing wp-content/plugins/yet-another-stars-rating/*.php files for add_action('wp_ajax_...) calls without corresponding authorization checks.
    Affected if AJAX endpoints are registered without current_user_can() capability checks or nonce verification.
  3. Test unauthenticated endpoint access
    Send a direct HTTP POST request to known YASR AJAX handlers (commonly found via browser developer tools when using the plugin, or via plugin source review) without including authentication cookies or nonce tokens.
    Affected if The endpoint returns successful responses (200 OK with data) when accessed without valid authentication or authorization.
  4. Check REST API exposure
    Review plugin code for REST API route registration (add_action('rest_api_init', ...)) and verify whether registered endpoints enforce capability checks (current_user_can) before executing sensitive operations.
    Affected if REST API routes exist and allow execution of privileged actions without capability verification.

A user is affected if the YASR plugin is active, any version is installed, and AJAX or REST API endpoints lack proper capability checks or nonce validation, allowing unauthorized actions.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update to the latest version of Yet Another Stars Rating plugin when available, and implement proper authorization checks (current_user_can() and nonce verification) on all sensitive endpoints.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest available version of Yet Another Stars Rating (version higher than 3.4.3)

  1. 1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. 3. Locate 'Yet Another Stars Rating' by Dash Labs
  4. 4. Check the current installed version number
  5. 5. If the installed version is 3.4.3 or lower, update the plugin to the latest available version
  6. 6. Verify the update completed successfully
  7. 7. Test the plugin functionality to ensure the authorization controls are working correctly

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-39305 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-39305 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