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Joomla\!Application · Joomla

CVE-2024-21722

MEDIUM · 6.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-02-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.10.15 / 4.4.3 or later.
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 MFA management features did not properly terminate existing user sessions when a user's MFA methods have been modified.

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

This is a session management vulnerability in MFA features where existing user sessions remain active after an administrator modifies a user's MFA methods (such as adding, removing, or changing authentication factors). An attacker with access to a prior session could continue authenticated access even after MFA configuration changes, bypassing the intended security control.

MitigationImplement proper session termination/invalidation logic that immediately revokes all active sessions when a user's MFA configuration is modified, and force re-authentication with the new MFA settings.

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
Joomla\!Application
Affected:>= 3.2.0, < 3.10.15>= 4.0.0, < 4.4.3>= 5.0.0, < 5.0.3

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 installed Joomla version
    Locate the version.php file in your Joomla installation (typically at /libraries/src/Version.php or check the administratormanifests files) and read the VERSION constant, or use the Joomla admin dashboard under System > Information
    Affected if version is >= 3.2.0 and < 3.10.15, OR >= 4.0.0 and < 4.4.3, OR >= 5.0.0 and < 5.0.3
  2. Verify MFA plugin is enabled
    Navigate to Users > Manage > Plugins in the Joomla administrator panel and search for plugins containing 'multifactorauth' or 'mfa', or check the #__extensions database table for plugin type 'plugin' with folder 'authentication' or 'user' and element containing 'mfa'
    Affected if any MFA-related authentication or user plugins are published/enabled in the system
  3. Check if any users have MFA configured
    Query the #__user_keys table (or #__mfakeys depending on Joomla version) to see if any records exist, or check the user profile in the admin panel under Users > Manage > select a user > MFA tab
    Affected if any user records exist in the MFA configuration tables indicating active MFA enrollment
  4. Examine active sessions in database
    Query the #__session table for active user sessions: SELECT userid, time, guest FROM #__session WHERE userid IS NOT NULL and guest = 0; compare session timestamps to identify sessions that may persist beyond MFA changes
    Affected if active database sessions exist for users who have MFA configured

You are affected if your Joomla version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND you have MFA plugins enabled with users actively enrolled in MFA, as the session invalidation flaw only applies when MFA configuration changes occur with existing active sessions.

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 3.10.15 / 4.4.3 / 5.0.3 or later
Fixed in 3.10.154.4.35.0.3
Interim mitigation

Implement proper session termination/invalidation logic that immediately revokes all active sessions when a user's MFA configuration is modified, and force re-authentication with the new MFA settings.

Recommended fix High confidence

Joomla 3.10.15, 4.4.3, or 5.0.3 (depending on your major version branch)

  1. 1. Back up your Joomla website database and files before upgrading
  2. 2. Download the appropriate Joomla version for your installation (3.10.15, 4.4.3, or 5.0.3) from the official Joomla! Downloads page
  3. 3. Extract the upgrade package to your local machine
  4. 4. Upload the extracted files to your web server, overwriting the existing Joomla core files
  5. 5. Navigate to your website's administrator panel - Joomla will automatically run the database migration scripts
  6. 6. Verify that the upgrade was successful by checking the Joomla version in System > Information
  7. 7. Clear any caching mechanisms (Joomla cache, CDN cache, browser cache)
  8. 8. Test that users can log in and that MFA functionality works correctly
Caveat Standard Joomla minor version upgrades rarely introduce breaking changes; always test on staging first

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

Fix this in Joomla\! Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.

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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-2024-21722 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