CVE-2023-5239: 
WordPress vulnerability analysis and mitigation

The Security & Malware scan by CleanTalk WordPress plugin before version 2.121 contains a vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-5239. The vulnerability was discovered and reported by Bartlomiej Marek, and was publicly disclosed on November 6, 2023. This security issue affects the plugin's IP address validation mechanism, specifically impacting WordPress installations using versions prior to 2.121 (WPScan Advisory).

The vulnerability stems from the plugin's improper handling of client IP addresses, where it retrieves IP information from potentially untrusted headers without proper validation. The issue has been assigned a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with the vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N. The vulnerability is classified as CWE-290 (Authentication Bypass by Spoofing) and falls under the OWASP Top 10 category A5: Broken Access Control (NVD Database, WPScan Advisory).

The vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate their IP address value, which can be exploited to bypass the plugin's bruteforce protection mechanisms. This could potentially lead to unauthorized access attempts going undetected by the security measures implemented by the plugin (WPScan Advisory).

The vulnerability has been patched in version 2.121 of the Security & Malware scan by CleanTalk plugin. Users are strongly advised to update to this version or later to protect against potential exploitation (WPScan Advisory).