CVE-2023-38398Network attack vector

Unauthorized site changes via forged requests

Published Oct 3, 2023 · Updated Apr 28, 2026

Cross-site request forgery in the Taboola WordPress plugin 2.0.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to change site data via crafted requests. Neither Taboola nor Patchstack has publicly identified the affected endpoint or the request-validation operation that accepts the forged input. The attacker needs no account, but exploitation requires a logged-in WordPress user to interact with attacker-controlled content; no disclosure or outage is reported.

CVSS severity4.3
Medium
EPSS probability0.25%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Cross-site request forgery in the Taboola WordPress plugin 2.0.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to change site data via crafted requests. Neither Taboola nor Patchstack has publicly identified the affected endpoint or the request-validation operation that accepts the forged input. The attacker needs no account, but exploitation requires a logged-in WordPress user to interact with attacker-controlled content; no disclosure or outage is reported.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-38398
Published
Oct 3, 2023
Updated
Apr 28, 2026
Vendor
Taboola
Product
Taboola
Classifications
CWE-352, CAPEC-62
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 3, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 28, 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=n/a <=2.0.1 changes=[{"at":"2.0.2","status":"unaffected"}]

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Taboola · Taboolaversion=n/a <=2.0.1 changes=[{"at":"2.0.2","status":"unaffected"}]

Published CVSS scores

8.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.3PatchstackCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-352Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
CAPEC-62Cross Site Request Forgery

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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