dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2023-41656

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
60/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 wpdive Better Elementor Addons allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Better Elementor Addons: from n/a through 1.3.7.

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 wpdive Better Elementor Addons allows attackers to access functionality or data without proper authentication verification. The vulnerability stems from incorrectly configured access control security levels, likely where plugin functions lack capability checks (e.g., current_user_can()) or proper nonce validation on AJAX endpoints or frontend rendering actions.

MitigationImplement proper authorization checks (WordPress capability checks and nonce verification) on all sensitive plugin functions and AJAX actions to verify user permissions before executing privileged operations.

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 checks

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

  1. Verify plugin installation
    Navigate to WordPress admin > Plugins and locate 'Better Elementor Addons' by wpdive. Note the installed version from the plugin description.
    Affected if The plugin is installed and active
  2. Check plugin version against advisory
    Compare your installed version number to the version(s) referenced in CVE-2023-41656 vulnerability disclosure or release notes. If your version predates the patch, it may be vulnerable.
    Affected if Installed version is older than the patched release
  3. Inspect AJAX endpoints for capability checks
    Examine the plugin files (typically in includes/ or classes/ folders) for AJAX action handlers. Search for 'add_action' calls registering AJAX actions and verify they include 'current_user_can()' capability checks before executing sensitive operations.
    Affected if AJAX endpoints lack current_user_can() checks
  4. Verify nonce validation on AJAX actions
    Review the same AJAX handler code to confirm nonce verification is implemented using wp_verify_nonce() or check_ajax_referer() before processing requests.
    Affected if AJAX actions lack nonce verification
  5. Check frontend rendering actions for authorization
    Scan plugin files for hooks executing on frontend (like elementor/widgets/widgets_init or similar) and ensure they validate user capabilities before rendering privileged content or executing sensitive functions.
    Affected if Frontend actions lack authorization checks

If the plugin is installed and its AJAX endpoints or frontend actions do not implement current_user_can() checks and nonce validation, the environment 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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement proper authorization checks (WordPress capability checks and nonce verification) on all sensitive plugin functions and AJAX actions to verify user permissions before executing privileged operations.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest version after 1.3.7 (check WordPress plugin repository for most recent release)

  1. 1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
  2. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
  3. 3. Locate 'Better Elementor Addons' (by wpdive).
  4. 4. Check if an update is available - if so, update to the latest version.
  5. 5. If no update is available through WordPress, visit the official WordPress plugin repository or the developer's site to download the latest version.
  6. 6. After updating, verify the plugin is functioning correctly on your site.

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 / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2023-41656 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
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