CVE-2023-3956 | InstaWP Connect <= 0.0.9.18 - Missing Authorization to Unauthenticated Post/Taxonomy/User Add/Change/Delete, Customizer Setting Change, Plugin Installation/Activation/Deactication via events_receiver

The InstaWP Connect plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access of data, modification of data and loss of data due to a missing capability check on the 'events_receiver' function in versions up to, and including, 0.0.9.18. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to add, modify or delete post and taxonomy, install, activate or deactivate plugin, change customizer settings, add or modify or delete user including administrator user.

Published: 2023-07-27 Last update: 2026-04-08 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-3956 is rated High Risk (66.4/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.01%). Mandatory action: High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-3956

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-23 0.88% 1.01% +0.13%
2 2026-04-21 0.47% 0.88% +0.41%
3 2025-11-21 0.47%

Full EPSS history (14 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-3956

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
3.9 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-3956

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-3956

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
instawp instawp_connect <= 0.0.9.18 cpe:2.3:a:instawp:instawp_connect:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*

References for CVE-2023-3956

cvelogic Threat Intelligence