# CVE-2023-6855: Paid Memberships Pro <= 2.12.5 - Missing Authorization via API

> Unauthenticated attackers can modify membership levels and prices due to a missing capability check in the API.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Jan 2024
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-v46r-x4f9-r3p5

## What is CVE-2023-6855?

CVE-2023-6855 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in strangerstudios Paid Memberships Pro – Content Restriction, User Registration, & Paid Subscriptions, published on 11 Jan 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Paid Memberships Pro – Content Restriction, User Registration, & Paid Subscriptions plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of membership levels created by the plugin due to an incorrectly implemented capability check in the pmpro_rest_api_get_permissions_check function in all versions up to 2.12.5 (inclusive). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to change membership levels including prices.

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-6855?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Strangerstudios Paid Memberships Pro.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-6855?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-6855 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-6855 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-6855 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in strangerstudios Paid Memberships Pro – Content Restriction, User Registration, & Paid Subscriptions

- [CVE-2023-23488](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-23488/): SQL injection in Paid Memberships Pro WordPress Plugin (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-25114](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25114/): Paid Memberships Pro < 2.6.7 - Unauthenticated Blind SQL Injection (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-0631](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0631/): Paid Memberships Pro < 2.9.12 - Subscriber+ SQL Injection (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-20678](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20678/): SQL injection in Paid Memberships Pro (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2024-37486](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-37486/): WordPress Paid Memberships Pro plugin <= 3.0.5 - Authenticated SQL Injection vulnerability (high 7.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-6855 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-6855 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in strangerstudios Paid Memberships Pro – Content Restriction, User Registration, & Paid Subscriptions, published on 11 Jan 2024. 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-2023-6855 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: strangerstudios Paid Memberships Pro – Content Restriction, User Registration, & Paid Subscriptions. 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-2023-6855/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-6855/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-6855
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-6855
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-6855

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-6855/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.