# CVE-2023-1889: Missing authorization in Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads

> Authenticated subscribers can delete arbitrary posts due to missing authorization checks in the Directorist WordPress plugin.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 Jun 2023
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-qhgh-c3g3-r5vf

## What is CVE-2023-1889?

CVE-2023-1889 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in wpwax Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads, published on 9 Jun 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Directorist plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to an Insecure Direct Object Reference in versions up to, and including, 7.5.4. This is due to improper validation and authorization checks within the listing_task function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above, to delete arbitrary posts. Please note CVE-2023-35052 appears to be a duplicate of this issue.

Weakness: CWE-639 (Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-1889?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Wpwax Directorist.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-1889?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-1889 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-1889 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-1889 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in wpwax Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads

- [CVE-2023-1888](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1888/): Directorist <= 7.5.4 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary User Password Reset to Privilege Escalation (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2025-1570](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-1570/): Auth bypass in Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2021-24981](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24981/): Directorist – Business Directory Plugin < 7.0.6.2 - CSRF to Remote File Upload (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2022-3961](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-3961/): Directorist < 7.4.4 - Subscriber+ Sensitive Information Disclosure (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2022-3930](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-3930/): Directorist < 7.4.2.2 - Subscriber+ Arbitrary User Password Update via IDOR (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-1889 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-1889 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in wpwax Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads, published on 9 Jun 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-1889 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: wpwax Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1889/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1889/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-1889
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-1889
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-1889

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1889/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.