Ovic Responsive WpbakeryWordPress extension · Kutethemes
CVE-2023-5235
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 · uneditedThe Ovic Responsive WPBakery WordPress plugin before 1.2.9 does not limit which options can be updated via some of its AJAX actions, which may allow attackers with a subscriber+ account to update blog options, such as 'users_can_register' and 'default_role'. It also unserializes user input in the process, which may lead to Object Injection attacks.
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 confidenceThe Ovic Responsive WPBakery WordPress plugin before 1.2.9 contains a broken access control vulnerability in its AJAX actions that allows authenticated users with subscriber-level privileges to modify WordPress options (such as users_can_register and default_role). Additionally, the plugin unsafely deserializes user input, potentially enabling PHP Object Injection attacks.
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
Ovic Responsive WpbakeryWordPress extension
< 1.2.9CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify plugin is installedNavigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins, or inspect the file system at wp-content/plugins/ for a folder containing 'ovic' or 'kutethemes'. Locate the main plugin file and check the version header comment.Affected if The Ovic Responsive WPBakery plugin folder exists in the plugins directory.
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Identify installed versionOpen the main plugin PHP file (typically the primary PHP file in the plugin folder) and locate the 'Version:' field in the file header comment, or check the version in plugin list in WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins.Affected if The version number found is lower than 1.2.9 (for example, 1.2.8, 1.2.7, 1.0, etc.).
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Check AJAX endpoint accessibilityInspect the plugin PHP files for registered AJAX actions using add_action('wp_ajax_...') or add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_...') hooks. Verify if any of these actions perform capability checks using current_user_can() with a privilege level that subscribers would pass.Affected if AJAX action handlers exist that do not properly validate user capabilities before performing sensitive operations like updating options.
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Verify subscriber role exists and is activeIn WordPress admin, go to Users > Roles (or use a role editor plugin) to confirm the subscriber role is present and active on the site.Affected if The subscriber role exists and is not disabled, meaning any user with subscriber-level access could potentially exploit the flaw.
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Inspect for unsafe deserialization usageSearch plugin PHP files for unserialize() calls that process data from external sources such as $_POST, $_GET, or AJAX request inputs without prior sanitization.Affected if The plugin code contains unserialize() applied to user-supplied input without validation.
The environment is affected if the Ovic Responsive WPBakery plugin is installed with a version lower than 1.2.9, the vulnerable AJAX actions are accessible to subscriber-level users, and/or the plugin uses unsafe deserialization on user input.
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.
dbcve · scoped1.2.9
Update the Ovic Responsive WPBakery WordPress plugin to version 1.2.9 or later. Until the update is applied, consider disabling the plugin or restricting AJAX endpoint access at the server level.
1.2.9
- 1. Create a complete backup of your WordPress site (database and files) before making any changes
- 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins in your WordPress admin dashboard
- 3. Find the 'Ovic Responsive Wpbakery' plugin in the list
- 4. Click 'Update now' if an update is available, or manually upload version 1.2.9 or later from the WordPress plugin repository
- 5. Verify the plugin is running version 1.2.9 or higher under Plugins > Installed Plugins
- 6. Test that the plugin functionality works correctly after the update
- 7. If available, review audit logs to confirm no unauthorized option changes occurred prior to the update
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Ovic Responsive Wpbakery
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-5235 — 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-2023-5235 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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- 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
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