CVE-2024-33594
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 · uneditedMissing Authorization vulnerability in Leaky Paywall.This issue affects Leaky Paywall: from n/a through 4.20.8.
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 Leaky Paywall WordPress plugin (versions through 4.20.8) allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass access controls and access functionality or data that should require proper authorization. The CVSS 7.5 score indicates network-exploitable unauthorized access without authentication.
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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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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Verify Leaky Paywall plugin is installedIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Leaky Paywall' in the list. Alternatively, check the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for a folder named 'leaky-paywall' or check the site's wp-config.php and database for plugin references.Affected if The plugin is present on the WordPress site
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Identify the installed Leaky Paywall versionIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins, find Leaky Paywall, and view the version number displayed below the plugin name. Alternatively, check the main plugin file (usually /wp-content/plugins/leaky-paywall/leaky-paywall.php) for the 'Version' header in the plugin comment block.Affected if The version cannot be determined or is 4.20.8 or lower
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Compare your version to the affected rangeIf you obtained a version number in the previous step, compare it to the affected range: versions through 4.20.8 (meaning 4.20.8 and all earlier versions). Versions 4.20.9 and later are not affected.Affected if The installed version is 4.20.8 or lower, or if you cannot confirm the version is 4.20.9 or later
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Check for unauthenticated API access (optional contextual check)If technically feasible and safe, review the plugin's exposed endpoints (typically under /wp-json/ or custom AJAX handlers) to verify that authorization checks are properly enforced. Look for any Leaky Paywall REST API routes that may be accessible without authentication.Affected if Unauthenticated access to restricted Leaky Paywall functionality or data is possible
The site is affected if Leaky Paywall is installed and the version is 4.20.8 or lower, as these versions allow unauthenticated attackers to bypass authorization controls.
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.
From vendor dataUpgrade Leaky Paywall to version 4.20.9 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, review the plugin's admin and API endpoints for manual authorization controls until the update can be applied.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-33594 — 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-2024-33594 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data