CVE-2022-35944
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 · uneditedOctober is a self-hosted Content Management System (CMS) platform based on the Laravel PHP Framework. This vulnerability only affects installations that rely on the safe mode restriction, commonly used when providing public access to the admin panel. Assuming an attacker has access to the admin panel and permission to open the "Editor" section, they can bypass the Safe Mode (`cms.safe_mode`) restriction to introduce new PHP code in a CMS template using a specially crafted request. The issue has been patched in versions 2.2.34 and 3.0.66.
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 · high confidenceAuthenticated admin users with Editor permissions can bypass the cms.safe_mode restriction in October CMS to inject arbitrary PHP code into CMS templates via specially crafted requests. This allows privilege escalation from a standard editor to code execution, but requires prior admin panel 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< 2.2.34>= 3.0.00, < 3.0.66CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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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Identify October CMS installed versionCheck the version file in your October CMS installation (typically found in the root directory or via the admin dashboard About page). Compare your installed version against the affected ranges: < 2.2.34 or >= 3.0.00 and < 3.0.66.Affected if Your installed version falls within the vulnerable version ranges.
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Verify cms.safe_mode configurationLocate the CMS configuration file (usually config/cms.php in the installation) and check the safe_mode setting. This setting controls whether PHP code injection is allowed in templates.Affected if safe_mode is enabled and you rely on it as a security boundary.
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Review Editor role permissionsAccess the admin panel and navigate to Administrators > Roles to review the Editor role permissions. Specifically check if Editor users have access to template modification features.Affected if Editor role users exist and have permissions to modify CMS templates.
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Audit recent template modificationsCheck the CMS templates directory (typically /cms/templates or /themes) for any unexpected changes, or review the system event logs for recent template save operations by Editor-level users.Affected if Template files have been modified recently by users with Editor permissions.
You are likely affected if your October CMS version is below 2.2.34 or between 3.0.00 and 3.0.66, you rely on cms.safe_mode for security, and Editor-role users have access to modify templates.
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 · scoped2.2.343.0.66
Upgrade October CMS to version 2.2.34 or 3.0.66. Additionally, review admin user permissions and monitor for unauthorized template modifications as a defense-in-depth measure.
Upgrade to version 2.2.34 (for 2.x branch) or 3.0.66 (for 3.x branch)
- 1. Backup your October CMS installation and database before upgrading
- 2. Identify your current October CMS version (check composer.json or system health page)
- 3. If running version 2.x (< 2.2.34): Run `composer update october/system` or use the one-click update in the admin panel to upgrade to 2.2.34
- 4. If running version 3.x (>= 3.0.00 and < 3.0.66): Run `composer update october/system` or use the one-click update in the admin panel to upgrade to 3.0.66
- 5. Clear application cache after upgrading (`php artisan cache:clear`)
- 6. Verify the new version is installed by checking the system information page
- 7. Confirm the Safe Mode restriction is now properly enforced by testing template editing permissions
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-35944 — 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-2022-35944 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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- 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
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