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Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)Weakness · CWE-918

CVE-2023-7073

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
70/100
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
The Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Server-Side Request Forgery in all versions up to, and including, 4.1.7 via the upload_to_library AJAX action. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with author-level access and above, to make web requests to arbitrary locations originating from the web application and can be used to query and modify information from internal services.

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 Auto Featured Image WordPress plugin versions up to 4.1.7 contain a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in the upload_to_library AJAX action. Authenticated attackers with author-level access or higher can abuse this to make arbitrary web requests from the server, potentially reaching internal services, exfiltrating data, or pivoting to internal network targets.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to the latest version once available, or disable and remove the plugin if no patch is forthcoming. Consider implementing WAF rules to detect SSRF attack patterns and restrict server-side outbound HTTP requests.

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
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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 checks

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

  1. Verify Auto Featured Image plugin is installed
    Check wp-content/plugins/ directory for 'auto-featured-image' folder, or view installed plugins in WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins
    Affected if The plugin folder exists and the plugin appears in the WordPress plugin list
  2. Identify the installed plugin version
    Open the main plugin file (auto-featured-image.php) and locate the Version header in the plugin comments, or check the version shown in the WordPress plugins admin page
    Affected if The version number is 4.1.7 or lower (any version up to and including 4.1.7)
  3. Confirm the vulnerable AJAX action exists
    Search the plugin source code for 'upload_to_library' action handler. In the plugin directory, look for files containing 'add_action("wp_ajax_upload_to_library"' or 'do_action("upload_to_library"'
    Affected if The upload_to_library AJAX action handler is present in the plugin code
  4. Check if the AJAX action is accessible to authenticated users
    Examine the plugin code to determine if the AJAX handler is registered with a privilege check (wp_ajax_ vs wp_ajax_nopriv_) or if there is a capability check before the request is processed
    Affected if The action is registered as 'wp_ajax_upload_to_library' without a capability/capability check, or allows author-level users without proper validation

The environment is affected if the Auto Featured Image plugin is installed with version 4.1.7 or lower and the upload_to_library AJAX action is accessible to authenticated users with author-level access or higher.

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 the plugin to the latest version once available, or disable and remove the plugin if no patch is forthcoming. Consider implementing WAF rules to detect SSRF attack patterns and restrict server-side outbound HTTP requests.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

4.1.8

  1. 1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard with an account that has administrator privileges.
  2. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
  3. 3. Locate the 'Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail)' plugin.
  4. 4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to update to the latest version.
  5. 5. Alternatively, download the updated plugin package from the WordPress plugin repository and upload it manually via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
  6. 6. After updating, verify the plugin is running version 4.1.8 or higher.

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2023-7073 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