dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2022-4974

MEDIUM · 6.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 · unedited
The Freemius SDK, as used by hundreds of WordPress plugin and theme developers, was vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery and Information disclosure due to missing capability checks and nonce protection on the _get_debug_log, _get_db_option, and the _set_db_option functions in versions up to, and including 2.4.2. Any WordPress plugin or theme running a version of Freemius less than 2.4.3 is vulnerable.

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 confidence

The Freemius SDK versions up to 2.4.2 lacked proper authorization checks and nonce validation on the _get_debug_log, _get_db_option, and _set_db_option AJAX functions, enabling CSRF attacks and unauthorized access to debug logs and database options.

MitigationUpdate Freemius SDK to version 2.4.3 or higher in all affected WordPress plugins and themes.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS 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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Freemius SDK installation
    Search your WordPress plugin and theme directories for the freemius.php file or freemius-sdk directory. Common paths include wp-content/plugins/*/includes/freemius/ or within individual plugin/theme folders.
    Affected if The Freemius SDK is present in any installed plugin or theme.
  2. Determine Freemius SDK version
    Open the main freemius.php file and locate the version constant (FS__VERSION or similar). Compare this version number to the affected range: versions 2.4.2 and below.
    Affected if The installed version is 2.4.2 or lower.
  3. Check for vulnerable AJAX endpoints
    In the freemius.php or related AJAX handler files, search for the action names: _get_debug_log, _get_db_option, and _set_db_option. Verify these are registered as AJAX handlers.
    Affected if Any of these three AJAX actions are registered and accessible.
  4. Verify nonce/authorization implementation
    Examine the code handling the three AJAX endpoints. Look for wp_verify_nonce or current_user_can checks within the callback functions for _get_debug_log, _get_db_option, and _set_db_option.
    Affected if No nonce verification or authorization check (current_user_can) is found in these handlers.
  5. Test AJAX endpoint accessibility
    If you have admin access, attempt a direct POST request to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=freemius_get_debug_log (or the equivalent endpoint name used by the SDK). Check if the request succeeds without providing a valid nonce.
    Affected if The AJAX call returns success or debug data without requiring proper authentication/nonce.

Your environment is affected if any plugin or theme on your WordPress site uses the Freemius SDK version 2.4.2 or lower with the vulnerable AJAX endpoints exposed and lacking nonce/authorization checks.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Freemius SDK to version 2.4.3 or higher in all affected WordPress plugins and themes.

Recommended fix High confidence

Freemius SDK 2.4.3

  1. Identify WordPress plugins and themes that use the Freemius SDK by checking plugin/theme source code for the freemius directory or require statement
  2. For each affected plugin or theme, check if an update is available from the developer
  3. Update all affected plugins and themes to their latest versions, which should include Freemius SDK 2.4.3 or higher
  4. If a plugin or theme developer has not released an update, consider contacting the developer for a patch or find an alternative plugin/theme

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,220
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,552.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-4974 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-4974 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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