CVE-2023-46616
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 NSquared Draw Attention allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Draw Attention: from n/a through 2.0.15.
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 the NSquared Draw Attention WordPress plugin allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels. This appears to be a broken access control issue where the plugin fails to properly validate user permissions before allowing access to certain functionality or data.
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
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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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Confirm plugin installation and activationLog into WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins, and locate 'NSquared Draw Attention' or 'Draw Attention' in the list. Verify it shows as 'Active'.Affected if The plugin is installed and active in WordPress
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Identify installed plugin versionIn the plugin list, click on the plugin name to view details, or inspect the plugin's main PHP file (typically in wp-content/plugins/draw-attention/ or similar) to read the Version header comment.Affected if The installed version matches or falls within the affected version range (compare to the latest patched version)
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Verify admin functionality access controlsInspect the plugin's PHP files for action hooks (like wp_ajax_*) and check if they include current_user_can() or capability checks before processing requests. Focus on files handling admin actions or data modifications.Affected if AJAX actions or admin functions lack proper current_user_can() capability checks
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Test unauthorized access to plugin endpointsIf you have access to a non-admin account, attempt to access plugin admin pages or trigger AJAX actions directly via URL or curl request without admin privileges.Affected if Non-administrator users can access plugin administrative functions or modify settings without proper authorization
You are affected if the NSquared Draw Attention plugin is active and its administrative functionality or AJAX endpoints lack proper WordPress capability checks (current_user_can()), allowing unauthorized users to access sensitive features.
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 throughout the plugin to verify user permissions before granting access to sensitive functionality. Update to the latest version when a patch is released. Review and enforce appropriate access control security levels.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-46616 — 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-2023-46616 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