Security Resilience

CVE-2024-22145

Instawp Connect ≤ 0.1.0.9

Published
17 May 2024
Modified
23 April 2026
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.011 65th percentile
Risk Priority 84 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2024-22145 is a high-severity Incorrect Privilege Assignment (CWE-266) vulnerability in Instawp Instawp Connect. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Junk Data (T1001.001); ranked in the top 35% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-2 (Account Management) and AC-24 (Access Control Decisions) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2024-22145 is an Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability, also described under CWE-266 and CWE-269, that affects the InstaWP Connect WordPress plugin. It impacts all versions through 0.1.0.8 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8, reflecting network-accessible exploitation with low attack complexity and low privileges required.

An authenticated attacker with limited privileges can exploit the flaw to perform arbitrary option updates. This capability enables privilege escalation that can fully compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected WordPress site.

Public advisories published by Patchstack detail the arbitrary-option-update vector that leads to privilege escalation and identify the vulnerable plugin versions. No specific patch or mitigation steps are provided in the referenced records.

The associated EPSS score currently stands at 0.4886 with a recorded peak of 0.4945, indicating sustained exploitation interest after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability in InstaWP InstaWP Connect instawp-connect.This issue affects InstaWP Connect: from n/a through <= 0.1.0.8.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001.001 Junk Data Command And Control
Adversaries may add junk data to protocols used for command and control to make detection more difficult.
T1001.003 Protocol or Service Impersonation Command And Control
Adversaries may impersonate legitimate protocols or web service traffic to disguise command and control activity and thwart analysis efforts.
T1016 System Network Configuration Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may look for details about the network configuration and settings, such as IP and/or MAC addresses, of systems they access or through information discovery of remote systems.
T1027.002 Software Packing Stealth
Adversaries may perform software packing or virtual machine software protection to conceal their code.
T1027.008 Stripped Payloads Stealth
Adversaries may attempt to make a payload difficult to analyze by removing symbols, strings, and other human readable information.
T1027.014 Polymorphic Code Stealth
Adversaries may utilize polymorphic code (also known as metamorphic or mutating code) to evade detection.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-23507Same product: Instawp Instawp Connect
CVE-2024-6397Same product: Instawp Instawp Connect
CVE-2024-25918Same product: Instawp Instawp Connect
CVE-2024-2667Same product: Instawp Instawp Connect
CVE-2024-37228Same product: Instawp Instawp Connect
CVE-2024-23506Same product: Instawp Instawp Connect
CVE-2024-32701Same product: Instawp Instawp Connect
CVE-2024-4898Same product: Instawp Instawp Connect
CVE-2023-3956Same product: Instawp Instawp Connect
CVE-2026-6750Shared CWE-266, CWE-269

Affected Assets

instawp
instawp connect
≤ 0.1.0.9

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 8 hardening rules · 6 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

—

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Account management directly governs assignment and tracking of privileges so proper implementation stops the weakness from being introduced.

Requiring explicit access-control decisions ensures privileges are evaluated rather than assumed or omitted.

Access enforcement applies the correct privilege checks at every request, structurally preventing unintended spheres of control.

Separation of duties constrains how privileges may be assigned, reducing the chance of overly broad actor control.

Least privilege directly requires that only the minimal necessary privileges are assigned to each actor.

Binding security attributes to subjects/objects supplies the mechanism needed to track and enforce privileges correctly.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-05 partial match
blocks

Directly enforces least-privilege policy definition, management, and review that prevents incorrect privilege assignments.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

removes
blocks

A.5.15 directly requires determining access needs, defining/enforcing topic-specific access control policy and rules (including need-to-know, privilege restrictions, segregation, formal authorization, role-based mapping, and consistency with classification), which stops most incorrect privilege assignments from being exploitable; the bounded remainder is incorrect assignments that arise from flawed implementation of those rules rather than from their absence.

removes
blocks

A.5.18's provisioning, review, revocation and SoD rules (esp. a,b,c,f,i,j) directly stop most incorrect privilege assignments from being granted or persisting, with a bounded remainder in flawed implementation of the authorization step itself (see 5.9/5.15 dependency)

blocks

Defining and communicating authorization levels for each role limits the assignment of excessive or unnecessary privileges.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248551 A sticky bit must be set on all OL 8 public directories to prevent unauthorized and unintended information transferred via shared system resources. blocks CWE-266
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
  • V-271779 OL 9 must be configured so that a sticky bit must be set on all public directories. blocks CWE-266
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230243 A sticky bit must be set on all RHEL 8 public directories to prevent unauthorized and unintended information transferred via shared system resources. blocks CWE-266
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257929 A sticky bit must be set on all RHEL 9 public directories. blocks CWE-266
Ubuntu 22.04 (2 rules)
  • V-260513 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must set a sticky bit on all public directories to prevent unauthorized and unintended information transferred via shared system resources. blocks CWE-266
  • V-260559 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must ensure only users who need access to security functions are part of sudo group. blocks CWE-266
Ubuntu 24.04 (2 rules)
  • V-270748 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS must ensure only users who need access to security functions are part of sudo group. blocks CWE-266
  • V-270750 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS must set a sticky bit on all public directories to prevent unauthorized and unintended information transferred via shared system resources. blocks CWE-266

References