Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2024-43228

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
Missing Authorization vulnerability in SecuPress SecuPress Free secupress.This issue affects SecuPress Free: from n/a through <= 2.2.5.3.

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

Missing authorization vulnerability in SecuPress Free WordPress security plugin (versions <= 2.2.5.3) allows authenticated attackers to bypass access controls and access functionality they should not have permission to use.

MitigationApply vendor patch/upgrade to SecuPress Free version > 2.2.5.3 which includes proper authorization checks and capability verification for sensitive operations.

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
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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. Locate SecuPress Free plugin installation
    Check the WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for a folder named 'secupress-free' or similar SecuPress plugin directory. Inspect the main plugin file (usually plugin.php or the primary PHP file) to find the version declaration.
    Affected if SecuPress Free plugin is installed and the declared version is 2.2.5.3 or lower
  2. Verify installed version against affected range
    Find the version number in the plugin header comment at the top of the main plugin file. Common locations: wp-content/plugins/secupress-free/plugin.php or wp-content/plugins/secupress-secured-advanced/plugin.php. Look for 'Version: x.x.x' in the file header.
    Affected if The installed version is 2.2.5.3 or any version lower than 2.2.5.3
  3. Check for existing user accounts
    In the WordPress admin dashboard, navigate to Users > All Users to enumerate registered accounts. Alternatively, query the wp_users and wp_usermeta database tables to list all users with usernames and roles.
    Affected if Any authenticated user account exists in the WordPress installation, regardless of role, as the vulnerability allows privilege escalation for authenticated attackers
  4. Identify sensitive SecuPress features accessible without authorization
    Review SecuPress settings pages (SecuPress > Settings, SecuPress > IP Firewall, SecuPress > Plugins & Themes, etc.) to determine if sensitive security configuration options are reachable. Check if actions like disabling security rules, modifying firewall settings, or accessing premium features can be triggered via direct URL access without proper capability checks.
    Affected if Sensitive SecuPress security configuration pages or actions are accessible to users who should not have permission to modify them, indicating the authorization bypass is present

The environment is affected if SecuPress Free plugin version 2.2.5.3 or lower is installed and there are any authenticated user accounts that could potentially exploit the missing authorization checks on sensitive plugin functionality.

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

Apply vendor patch/upgrade to SecuPress Free version > 2.2.5.3 which includes proper authorization checks and capability verification for sensitive operations.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-43228 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-43228 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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