# CVE-2023-2297: Profile Builder – User Profile & User Registration Forms <= 3.9.0 - Insecure Password Reset Mechanism

> Attackers can bypass password reset validation to take over user accounts in the Profile Builder WordPress plugin.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 26 Apr 2023
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5r3c-cq8h-c6gx

## What is CVE-2023-2297?

CVE-2023-2297 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in cozmoslabs User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor, published on 26 Apr 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Profile Builder – User Profile & User Registration Forms plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized password resets  in versions up to, and including 3.9.0. This is due to the plugin using native password reset functionality, with insufficient validation on the password reset function (wppb_front_end_password_recovery). The function uses the plaintext value of a password reset key instead of a hashed value which means it can easily be retrieved and subsequently used. An attacker can leverage CVE-2023-0814, or another vulnerability like SQL Injection in another plugin or theme installed on the site to successfully exploit this vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication), CWE-620 (Unverified Password Change)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-2297?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cozmoslabs Profile Builder.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-2297?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-2297 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-2297 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-2297 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in cozmoslabs User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor

- [CVE-2024-6695](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-6695/): profile-builder <= 3.11.8 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-24527](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24527/): Profile Builder < 3.4.9 - Admin Access via Password Reset (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2024-6366](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-6366/): User Profile Builder < 3.11.8 - Unauthenticated Media Upload (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2024-22140](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-22140/): WordPress Profile Builder Pro Plugin <= 3.10.0 is vulnerable to Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2024-0324](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-0324/): Missing authorization in User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor (high 8.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-2297 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-2297 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in cozmoslabs User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor, published on 26 Apr 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-2297 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: cozmoslabs User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor. 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-2023-2297/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2297/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-2297
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-2297
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-2297

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2297/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.