CVE-2022-4057
Published: 02 January 2023
Summary
CVE-2022-4057 is a medium-severity Forced Browsing (CWE-425) vulnerability in Optimizingmatters Autooptimize. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).
Operationally, ranked in the top 2.3% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis
The vulnerability affects the Autoptimize WordPress plugin prior to version 3.1.0, which stores exported settings and logs at an easily guessable path. This corresponds to CWE-425 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 5.3, reflecting network-accessible exposure of limited sensitive information without requiring authentication or user interaction.
An unauthenticated attacker can exploit the issue by directly requesting the predictable file path over the network, thereby retrieving the plugin's exported configuration data and logs. The attack requires no privileges and results only in confidentiality impact.
The referenced WPScan advisory at https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/95ee1b9c-1971-4c35-8527-5764e9ed64af documents the flaw and its presence in versions before 3.1.0.
EPSS for the CVE reached a peak of 0.5881 on 2026-01-13 before receding to the current value of 0.4539.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-51434
Vulnerability details
The Autoptimize WordPress plugin before 3.1.0 uses an easily guessable path to store plugin's exported settings and logs.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Forcing a decision on every access request, including direct ones, reduces the exploitability of forced browsing by ensuring no unchecked access paths.
Forces all accesses through the reference monitor, preventing direct or forced requests that bypass checks.
Enforcing access for all logical requests prevents unauthorized direct access to protected resources.
Displaying the notification before further access on public systems prevents direct resource requests from bypassing the required system use terms and consent.
Decoy endpoints catch forced browsing and direct requests, deflecting attackers from legitimate resources while enabling analysis.
Blocks unauthorized direct requests or forced browsing by denying input access to non-authorized actors.