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Improper Privilege ManagementWeakness · CWE-269

CVE-2023-52209

HIGH · 8.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-08-01
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable

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 Privilege Management vulnerability in WPForms, LLC. WPForms User Registration allows Privilege Escalation.This issue affects WPForms User Registration: from n/a through 2.1.0.

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 · high confidence

The WPForms User Registration plugin for WordPress contains an Improper Privilege Management vulnerability (CWE-269) that allows authenticated users to escalate their privileges beyond what they should have. An attacker with subscriber-level access could potentially gain administrator-level privileges through the plugin's user registration or role assignment functionality.

MitigationUpdate WPForms User Registration to version 2.1.1 or later. If no update is available, consider disabling the user registration feature or implementing additional access controls at the server level until a patch is released.

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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. Confirm WPForms plugin is installed
    Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins in WordPress admin and look for 'WPForms' in the list. Check if the plugin is active.
    Affected if WPForms plugin is installed and active
  2. Confirm User Registration addon is installed
    Go to WPForms > Addons and look for the 'User Registration' addon. Check if it shows as installed and active.
    Affected if User Registration addon is installed and active
  3. Check User Registration addon version
    Navigate to WPForms > Addons, find the User Registration addon, and note the version number displayed. Compare against the affected range (versions prior to 2.1.1).
    Affected if Version is prior to 2.1.1 (or version cannot be determined and addon is active)
  4. Verify user registration functionality is enabled
    Go to WPForms > Settings > User Registration (or Settings > General if no dedicated tab exists). Look for any user registration or role assignment settings that are enabled.
    Affected if User registration or role assignment features are enabled and addon version is vulnerable
  5. Check configured default role for new users
    In the User Registration settings, examine the role assigned to newly registered users. Look for roles higher than Subscriber (such as Administrator, Editor, Author, or Contributor).
    Affected if Default role is set to a privileged role (Administrator, Editor, etc.) and the vulnerable addon version is in use

User is affected if the WPForms User Registration addon is installed, active, and version is prior to 2.1.1 with user registration or role assignment enabled.

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 WPForms User Registration to version 2.1.1 or later. If no update is available, consider disabling the user registration feature or implementing additional access controls at the server level until a patch is released.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Version 2.1.1 or later (check WordPress plugin repository for latest stable release)

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Find 'WPForms User Registration' in the plugin list
  4. Check the current version installed
  5. If the installed version is 2.1.0 or lower, click 'Update Now' to upgrade to the latest version
  6. Alternatively, download the latest version from the WordPress plugin repository or WPForms website
  7. After update, verify the new version number confirms the upgrade was successful
  8. Test user registration functionality to ensure the plugin continues to work correctly
Caveat Minor version updates typically do not introduce breaking changes, but test in staging first if available

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
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

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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-2023-52209 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