Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-38135 lets a low-privileged WordPress user, such as a subscriber, change Photospace Gallery plugin settings on sites running version 2.3.5 or earlier. This is not a server takeover based on the sources, but it can undermine site integrity and disrupt gallery behavior.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate WordPress hygiene issue. Prioritize externally reachable sites with user registration, customer portals, or many low-privileged accounts. It should be remediated in the normal patch cycle unless suspicious setting changes are observed.
Technical view
The issue is broken access control in Dean Oakley’s Photospace Gallery WordPress plugin <=2.3.5. CVSS 3.1 is 5.4: network reachable, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, unchanged scope, with low integrity and availability impact and no confidentiality impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites with Photospace Gallery version 2.3.5 or earlier installed, especially where subscriber-or-higher accounts exist. Sites allowing public registration or many low-privileged users have higher practical risk.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires an authenticated WordPress account with subscriber or higher privileges, then abuses missing authorization around plugin settings.
Researcher notes
Sources identify CWE-264 and describe authorization failure allowing subscriber-or-higher users to alter plugin settings. The evidence does not identify affected code paths, a fixed version, exploit maturity, or compensating controls, so validation should stay focused on plugin presence, version, roles, and settings integrity.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for Photospace Gallery installation and version.
- If <=2.3.5 is present, check vendor or WordPress.org guidance for a fixed release.
- Update the plugin if a fixed version is available.
- Remove or disable the plugin where it is unused or unsupported.
- Restrict subscriber accounts and disable public registration where unnecessary.
- Review and restore plugin settings after remediation.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Photospace Gallery is installed on each WordPress site.
- Record the installed plugin version and flag <=2.3.5.
- Review WordPress users with subscriber or higher roles.
- Check recent plugin setting changes for unexpected modifications.
- Verify remediation against the CVE and vendor references.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-264: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-38135 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L2.82.5Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/photospace/wordpress-photospace-gallery-plugin-2-3-5-broken-access-control-vulnerabilityCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/photospace/CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls
Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.