dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2024-37250

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-01
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
60/100
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
Missing Authorization vulnerability in WPEngine Inc. Advanced Custom Fields PRO allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Advanced Custom Fields PRO: from n/a through 6.3.1.

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 confidence

Advanced Custom Fields PRO plugin for WordPress contains a missing authorization vulnerability that allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels. The vulnerability stems from insufficient authorization checks on certain functionality, potentially enabling unauthorized access to protected features or data.

MitigationUpdate Advanced Custom Fields PRO to the latest version when a patch is released. Until then, review user roles and permissions, limit administrative access to trusted personnel, and implement additional access controls at the web application firewall level if possible.

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
None

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

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

  1. Confirm Advanced Custom Fields PRO is installed
    Navigate to Plugins section in WordPress admin dashboard and look for 'Advanced Custom Fields PRO' in the installed plugins list
    Affected if The plugin is installed and active
  2. Identify the installed version number
    Click on the plugin name in the Plugins list or check the plugin header in wp-content/plugins/advanced-custom-fields-pro/acf.php for the 'Version' define
    Affected if The version cannot be determined or falls within any unpatched range
  3. Verify public facing exposure of ACF admin features
    Check if wp-admin/admin.php?post_type=acf-field-group or related ACF admin endpoints are accessible from the frontend without proper authentication (test in an incognito browser window without being logged in)
    Affected if ACF admin pages or field group management interfaces are accessible without login
  4. Inspect user role assignments for ACF-specific capabilities
    Go to Users > Roles in WordPress admin and review if any non-administrator roles have 'manage_options' or custom ACF capabilities like 'acf_edit_field_groups' or 'acf_view_settings' assigned
    Affected if Lower-privileged users have elevated ACF capabilities that should be restricted
  5. Check for unexpected ACF field groups in the database
    Query the wp_posts table for posts with post_type='acf-field-group' that were created by users outside the administrator role or at unexpected times
    Affected if Field groups exist that were not created by known administrators
  6. Review access control configuration in ACF settings
    Navigate to Custom Fields > Field Groups, open any field group, and check the 'Show this field group group' setting for any rules allowing public or unauthenticated access
    Affected if Field groups are configured to display to unauthenticated users or public user roles

Your environment is likely affected if Advanced Custom Fields PRO is installed, the version is unpatched, and either the admin interface is publicly accessible or non-administrator users have elevated ACF permissions.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Advanced Custom Fields PRO to the latest version when a patch is released. Until then, review user roles and permissions, limit administrative access to trusted personnel, and implement additional access controls at the web application firewall level if possible.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2024-37250 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
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