Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-4501 lets any logged-in WordPress user with Subscriber-level access or higher change Mega Addons for WPBakery Page Builder settings. The business risk is unauthorized configuration change, which can affect site integrity and availability. The sources do not show confirmed active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority on public WordPress sites with user registration or many low-privilege accounts. Prioritize inventory and remediation, but avoid emergency assumptions because active exploitation is not evidenced in the provided sources.
Technical view
The plugin lacks a capability check in the vc_saving_data function, creating an authorization bypass in versions up to and including 4.3.0. The issue is CWE-862 with CVSS 7.1. It requires authentication but no user interaction, and primarily impacts integrity with some availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to WordPress sites running Mega Addons for WPBakery Page Builder version 4.3.0 or earlier, especially where untrusted users can authenticate as Subscriber or higher.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not cite KEV listing or active exploitation. Abuse requires a valid WordPress account with Subscriber-level privileges or above, then targets plugin settings rather than unauthenticated site takeover.
Researcher notes
Evidence identifies missing authorization in vc_saving_data and affected versions through 4.3.0. Affected metadata is sparse, so validate directly against installed plugin slug, version, and vendor advisories before asserting fixed status.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for Mega Addons for WPBakery Page Builder.
- Update only to a vendor-confirmed fixed version, if available.
- Disable the plugin if no confirmed fixed release is available.
- Limit Subscriber-level accounts to trusted users until remediated.
- Review vendor, Wordfence, and WordPress plugin guidance.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether the plugin is installed and active.
- Check whether installed versions are 4.3.0 or earlier.
- Review WordPress users with Subscriber privileges or higher.
- Inspect plugin settings for unexpected changes.
- Check logs for suspicious authenticated settings updates.
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-862: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. 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 lookupPrivilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-4501 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
- High
- CVSS
- 7.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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:H/A:L2.84.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.1HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/a1eda885-7e10-4294-9748-5359efd51754?source=cveCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/mega-addons-for-visual-composer/tags/4.2.7/main.php#L87CVE reference
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/a1eda885-7e10-4294-9748-5359efd51754CVE reference · x_transferred
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.
Missing Authorization
Missing Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.