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WordPressCMS

CVE-2023-22622

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 6.1.1 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges 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
WordPress through 6.1.1 depends on unpredictable client visits to cause wp-cron.php execution and the resulting security updates, and the source code describes "the scenario where a site may not receive enough visits to execute scheduled tasks in a timely manner," but neither the installation guide nor the security guide mentions this default behavior, or alerts the user about security risks on installations with very few visits.

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

WordPress through 6.1.1 relies on unpredictable client site visits to trigger wp-cron.php execution for scheduled tasks including security updates. On low-traffic installations, this default behavior causes critical tasks to be delayed or never executed, potentially leaving security patches unapplied longer than intended.

MitigationDisable WordPress default cron and configure system cron (via wp-config.php and server crontab) or ensure adequate external monitoring to trigger wp-cron.php reliably on low-traffic sites.

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
WordPressCMS
Affected:<= 6.1.1

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
Adjacent
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

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

  1. Check WordPress version
    Read the $wp_version variable from wp-includes/version.php or check the meta tag in wp-admin/about.php
    Affected if Installed version is 6.1.1 or lower
  2. Verify wp-cron.php execution method
    Inspect wp-config.php in the WordPress root directory for the DISABLE_WP_CRON constant setting
    Affected if DISABLE_WP_CRON is not defined or is set to false (default behavior) and no system cron is configured
  3. Check for external cron configuration
    Review the server crontab (crontab -l) for entries calling wp-cron.php or any external monitoring service URLs
    Affected if No crontab entry or external monitoring is found that triggers wp-cron.php on a schedule
  4. Assess site traffic pattern
    Review access logs or analytics to estimate average daily visits to the WordPress site
    Affected if The site has very low or sporadic traffic such that scheduled tasks may not trigger reliably

You are affected if running WordPress 6.1.1 or lower with default wp-cron behavior enabled and without a system cron or external trigger configured, especially on a low-traffic site.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 6.1.1
Interim mitigation

Disable WordPress default cron and configure system cron (via wp-config.php and server crontab) or ensure adequate external monitoring to trigger wp-cron.php reliably on low-traffic sites.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

WordPress 6.2 or later (latest stable release recommended, currently 6.6.x)

  1. Edit the wp-config.php file in the WordPress installation directory
  2. Add the following line just before the line that says '/* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */': define('DISABLE_WP_CRON', true);
  3. Set up a real system cron job (Linux/Unix) by adding the following to the crontab: */5 * * * * curl -s https://example.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron > /dev/null 2>&1 (replace example.com with the actual site URL)
  4. Alternatively, use a monitoring service or hosting panel to trigger the cron URL at regular intervals
Caveat Disabling WP_CRON requires setting up an alternative cron mechanism; ensure any scheduled tasks (posts, plugins, themes) are compatible before deploying

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

Fix this in WordPress Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-22622 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