dbcve.org
DefenderWordPress extension · Wpmudev

CVE-2023-47189

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-06-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.2.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Improper Authentication vulnerability in WPMU DEV Defender Security allows Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLs.This issue affects Defender Security: from n/a through 4.2.0.

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 confidence

Improper authentication vulnerability in WPMU DEV Defender Security plugin allows unauthorized users to access functionality that should be constrained by access control lists (ACLs). This is a broken access control vulnerability where authentication mechanisms fail to properly validate user permissions before granting access to sensitive security functions.

MitigationUpdate Defender Security to the latest version beyond 4.2.0 where the fix is available. If no update exists, implement proper ACL validation and authentication checks on all sensitive endpoints within the plugin.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
DefenderWordPress extension
Affected:< 4.2.1

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Locate Defender Security plugin version
    In WordPress admin dashboard, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins > locate 'Defender Security' and read the version number displayed below the plugin name. Alternatively, check the main plugin file header or the version defined in the plugin's main PHP file.
    Affected if Version number displayed is less than 4.2.1 (for example: 4.2.0, 4.1.x, 4.0.x, etc.)
  2. Confirm plugin file version constant
    Access your WordPress site files via FTP or file manager, navigate to /wp-content/plugins/defender-security/ and open the main plugin file (usually defender.php or index.php). Look for a line defining 'Version' or 'VERSION' constant in the file header comments.
    Affected if The Version field in the file header shows a version lower than 4.2.1
  3. Verify plugin is active
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and confirm the Defender Security plugin status shows as 'Active'.
    Affected if Plugin is active AND version is below 4.2.1 - this combination means the ACL bypass vulnerability is present in the running environment

Your environment is affected if the WPMU DEV Defender Security plugin version is 4.2.0 or lower and the plugin is active, as this version range contains the authentication bypass that fails to properly validate ACLs on sensitive security functions.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.2.1 or later
Fixed in 4.2.1
Interim mitigation

Update Defender Security to the latest version beyond 4.2.0 where the fix is available. If no update exists, implement proper ACL validation and authentication checks on all sensitive endpoints within the plugin.

Recommended fix High confidence

Defender Security version 4.2.1

  1. 1. Create a full backup of your WordPress site (database and files) before making any changes
  2. 2. Navigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins
  3. 3. Locate the Defender Security plugin in the installed plugins list
  4. 4. Click 'Update Now' to update Defender Security to version 4.2.1
  5. 5. Alternatively, go to Plugins > Add New > Upload and upload the Defender Security version 4.2.1 zip file
  6. 6. After update completes, verify the plugin version shows 4.2.1
  7. 7. Test that Defender Security functionality is working correctly

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

Fix this in Defender Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2023-47189 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