CVE-2023-2781Network attack vector

Account takeover via weak verification token generation

Published Jun 2, 2023 · Updated Apr 8, 2026

Authentication bypass in XLPlugins User Email Verification for WooCommerce 3.5.0 and earlier allows remote attackers to impersonate users. The resend_verification_email function generates a weak random token that authenticate_user_by_email accepts to verify an arbitrary account and establish its session. Exploitation requires the non-default Allow Automatic Login After Successful Verification setting and grants the selected account's privileges, including administrator access.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability1.17%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Authentication bypass in XLPlugins User Email Verification for WooCommerce 3.5.0 and earlier allows remote attackers to impersonate users. The resend_verification_email function generates a weak random token that authenticate_user_by_email accepts to verify an arbitrary account and establish its session. Exploitation requires the non-default Allow Automatic Login After Successful Verification setting and grants the selected account's privileges, including administrator access.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-2781
Published
Jun 2, 2023
Updated
Apr 8, 2026
Vendor
XLPlugins
Product
User Email Verification for WooCommerce
Classifications
CWE-288, CWE-306, T1078
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 2, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 8, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <=3.5.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

XLPlugins · User Email Verification for WooCommerceversion=0 <=3.5.0

Published CVSS scores

9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.1WordfenceCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-288Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel
CWE-306Missing Authentication for Critical Function
T1078Valid Accounts

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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