# CVE-2023-6506: WP 2FA <= 2.5.0 - Insecure Direct Object Reference to Arbitrary Email Sending

> Subscribers can send arbitrary emails to any user via insecure direct object reference in the WP 2FA plugin.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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:** 11 Jan 2024
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5pwx-2rrr-xcvm

## What is CVE-2023-6506?

CVE-2023-6506 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in melapress WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress, published on 11 Jan 2024. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in all versions up to, and including, 2.5.0 via the send_backup_codes_email due to missing validation on a user controlled key. This makes it possible for subscriber-level attackers to email arbitrary users on the site.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource), CWE-639 (Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-6506?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Wpwhitesecurity Wp 2fa.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-6506?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-6506 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-6506 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-6506 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in melapress WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress

- [CVE-2022-1527](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-1527/): WP 2FA < 2.2.1 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (medium 6.1)
- [CVE-2022-2891](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-2891/): WP 2FA < 2.3.0 - Time-Based Side-Channel Attack (medium 5.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-6506 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-6506 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in melapress WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress, published on 11 Jan 2024. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-6506 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: melapress WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress. 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-2023-6506/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-6506/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-6506
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-6506
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-6506

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-6506/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.