CVE-2023-7083 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting the Voting Record WordPress plugin up to version 2.0. The vulnerability arises due to the absence of Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) protections in certain functionalities of the plugin, combined with inadequate sanitization and escaping of user inputs. Specifically, this flaw allows an attacker to craft a malicious web request that, when executed by a logged-in administrator, can inject stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) payloads into the plugin's data. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352 (CSRF) and CWE-79 (Stored XSS). The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.4, indicating a medium severity level. The attack vector is network-based (remote), requires low attack complexity, and privileges equivalent to a logged-in administrator (PR:L). User interaction is required (UI:R), as the admin must visit a malicious page or link for the CSRF attack to succeed. The scope is changed (S:C), meaning the vulnerability affects resources beyond the initially vulnerable component. Exploitation could lead to partial confidentiality and integrity impacts, such as unauthorized script execution within the admin context, potentially enabling session hijacking, privilege escalation, or manipulation of plugin data. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability was published on January 16, 2024, and was assigned by WPScan. The affected versions are listed as '0', which likely indicates all versions up to 2.0 or an unspecified versioning scheme. Overall, this vulnerability represents a significant risk for WordPress sites using the Voting Record plugin, especially those with administrative users who might be tricked into visiting malicious sites or links, enabling attackers to persistently inject malicious scripts into the site environment.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2023-7083 can be considerable, especially for entities relying on WordPress sites with the Voting Record plugin installed. The vulnerability enables attackers to perform stored XSS attacks via CSRF, which can compromise the confidentiality and integrity of administrative sessions and site data. This could lead to unauthorized administrative actions, data manipulation, or further malware distribution within the website environment. Organizations in sectors such as government, education, media, and NGOs that use WordPress for public engagement or voting-related functionalities are particularly at risk. Exploitation could damage organizational reputation, lead to data breaches involving user or voter information, and disrupt online services. Additionally, the cross-site scripting component could be leveraged to bypass security controls, steal cookies or tokens, and facilitate lateral movement within the web application. Given the medium CVSS score and the requirement for admin privileges and user interaction, the risk is moderate but should not be underestimated, especially in environments with high-value targets or sensitive data. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate threat levels but does not preclude future exploitation.

1. Immediate mitigation should involve disabling or uninstalling the Voting Record plugin until a security patch is released. 2. Monitor official plugin repositories and security advisories for updates or patches addressing CVE-2023-7083. 3. Implement strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to reduce the impact of potential XSS payloads. 4. Educate administrators and privileged users about the risks of clicking on untrusted links or visiting suspicious websites to reduce the likelihood of successful CSRF attacks. 5. Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules designed to detect and block CSRF and XSS attack patterns targeting WordPress plugins. 6. Review and harden WordPress security configurations, including limiting plugin installations to trusted sources and minimizing the number of users with administrative privileges. 7. Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing focusing on plugin vulnerabilities and input validation mechanisms. 8. Where possible, implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for admin accounts to reduce the risk of session hijacking post-exploitation. 9. Sanitize and escape all user inputs in custom code or plugin extensions to prevent injection of malicious scripts. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on plugin-specific actions, user education, and layered defenses.