Advanced Custom FieldsWordPress extension · Advancedcustomfields
CVE-2021-20865
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAdvanced Custom Fields versions prior to 5.11 and Advanced Custom Fields Pro versions prior to 5.11 contain a missing authorization vulnerability in browsing database which may allow a user to browse unauthorized data via unspecified vectors.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceA missing authorization vulnerability in the database browsing functionality of Advanced Custom Fields (both free and Pro versions) prior to version 5.11 allows authenticated users to bypass access controls and browse data they are not authorized to access.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Advanced Custom FieldsWordPress extension
< 5.11CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Advanced Custom Fields plugin is installedCheck the WordPress plugins directory or wp-admin/plugins.php for 'Advanced Custom Fields' or 'Advanced Custom Fields Pro'Affected if Plugin is present and active
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Identify the installed versionView the plugin file header (usually in acf.php or advanced-custom-fields.php) or check the plugins admin page for the version numberAffected if Version is less than 5.11 (e.g., 5.10.x, 5.9.x, etc.)
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Verify authentication requirement for exploitationConfirm user accounts exist on the WordPress site and the application allows authenticated user accessAffected if Any authenticated user (not necessarily admin) can access the system
If the Advanced Custom Fields plugin is installed with a version prior to 5.11 and users can authenticate to the WordPress site, the environment is affected by this authorization bypass.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped5.11
Upgrade Advanced Custom Fields and Advanced Custom Fields Pro to version 5.11 or later to remediate this authorization bypass vulnerability.
Advanced Custom Fields version 5.11 or later (including Pro versions)
- 1. Back up your WordPress database and files before making any changes
- 2. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard
- 3. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- 4. Locate Advanced Custom Fields (or Advanced Custom Fields Pro) in the plugin list
- 5. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to update to version 5.11 or later
- 6. Alternatively, you can download version 5.11 from the WordPress plugin repository and upload it manually via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
- 7. After updating, verify the new version number is 5.11 or higher under the plugin description
- 8. Test that your custom fields are functioning correctly on your site
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Advanced Custom Fields
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-20865 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-20865 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data