Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-22473 is a high-severity PHP object injection issue in the designthemes Dental Clinic WordPress theme through version 3.7. An authenticated low-privilege attacker may be able to abuse unsafe deserialization to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. No source provided confirms active exploitation.
Executive priority
Prioritize identification and remediation for any public WordPress site using this theme, especially healthcare or patient-facing sites. Business urgency is high if the site permits user logins or registration. If no patch is available, consider replacement or compensating access controls pending vendor guidance.
Technical view
The CVE describes CWE-502 deserialization of untrusted data in Dental Clinic theme versions up to and including 3.7. CVSS 3.1 is 8.8 with network access, low attack complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, and high CIA impact. Public detail is limited to the CVE and Patchstack entry.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress installations using the designthemes Dental Clinic theme at version 3.7 or earlier. The CVSS vector indicates exploitation requires a low-privileged authenticated context, so sites with public registration, many users, or weak account controls face greater practical risk.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not include exploit code, proof-of-concept details, or confirmation of in-the-wild exploitation. It is not listed as CISA KEV in the provided data. Treat as serious because object injection can become highly impactful when usable gadget chains exist.
Researcher notes
The public record is sparse. The affected range is stated as through version 3.7, CWE-502, CVSS 8.8, PR:L. The provided sources do not identify the vulnerable parameter, reachable endpoint, gadget chain, fixed version, or exploitation status. Avoid assuming unauthenticated impact.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the Dental Clinic theme and installed version.
- Check the vendor, theme marketplace, and Patchstack for fixed-version guidance.
- Update the theme if a vendor-supported patched version is available.
- Restrict or disable unnecessary low-privileged WordPress accounts.
- Review account creation settings on sites using this theme.
- Back up the site before theme updates or replacement.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether the Dental Clinic theme is installed or active.
- Record the theme version and compare against <= 3.7.
- Review WordPress users for unexpected low-privileged accounts.
- Check security logs for unusual authenticated activity.
- Monitor Patchstack and CVE records for added remediation details.
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-502: Code execution behavior lookup
Code execution and unsafe deserialization weaknesses often justify reviewing execution behavior and process telemetry. 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-2026-22473 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
- 8.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
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.
Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Deserialization of Untrusted Data represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.