CVE-2023-5949Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Protected post disclosure via unguarded SEO metadata

Published Dec 18, 2023 · Updated Aug 2, 2024

Missing authorization in WPMU DEV SmartCrawl before 3.8.3 allows remote attackers to read password-protected post content through public pages. The plugin generates SEO meta-description and JSON-LD tags from the protected post body without applying WordPress's password-access check. Any unauthenticated visitor who knows a protected post URL can recover its text from the page source, while no write or service-interruption impact is reported.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.76%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Missing authorization in WPMU DEV SmartCrawl before 3.8.3 allows remote attackers to read password-protected post content through public pages. The plugin generates SEO meta-description and JSON-LD tags from the protected post body without applying WordPress's password-access check. Any unauthenticated visitor who knows a protected post URL can recover its text from the page source, while no write or service-interruption impact is reported.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-5949
Published
Dec 18, 2023
Updated
Aug 2, 2024
Vendor
WPMU DEV
Product
SmartCrawl
Classifications
CWE-862, T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 18, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 2, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <3.8.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

WPMU DEV · SmartCrawlversion=0 <3.8.3

Published CVSS scores

7.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-862Missing Authorization
T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application

Public exploit references

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

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo