NewspackWordPress extension · Automattic
CVE-2024-43968
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 · uneditedBroken Access Control vulnerability in Automattic Newspack allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Newspack: from n/a through 3.8.6.
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 confidenceBroken Access Control vulnerability in Automattic Newspack allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially enabling unauthorized access to protected resources or functions that should require higher privileges.
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
NewspackWordPress extension
< 3.8.7CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Newspack versionCheck the installed version of the Automattic Newspack plugin by viewing the plugin header or version file, typically found in the WordPress plugin directory under newspack/Affected if The installed version is lower than 3.8.7
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Review access control security levelsInspect the Newspack security settings in the WordPress admin dashboard under Newspack > Settings > Security, looking for configured access control levels and role assignmentsAffected if Access control security levels are set below the recommended maximum level
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Audit user role assignmentsReview all user accounts with elevated privileges in WordPress Users panel to identify any unexpected role assignments that may indicate misconfigured accessAffected if Users have been assigned roles that grant access beyond their intended privilege level
A user is affected if their installed Newspack version is below 3.8.7 and they have access control security settings configured below the maximum level.
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.
dbcve · scoped3.8.7
Upgrade Newspack to the latest version (3.8.7 or later) to obtain the patch for this access control vulnerability.
Newspack 3.8.7
- Identify the current Newspack version installed in your WordPress environment
- Backup your WordPress database and files before proceeding with any updates
- Update Newspack to version 3.8.7 or later through the WordPress plugin interface, or via WP-CLI: wp plugin update newspack
- Verify the update was successful by checking the installed version number
- Test that the authorization/access control functionality is working correctly after the update
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Newspack
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-43968 — 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-2024-43968 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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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.
- 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