CVE-2022-40696 | WordPress Advanced Custom Fields Plugin 3.1.1-6.0.2 is vulnerable to Sensitive Data Exposure

Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor vulnerability in WP Engine Advanced Custom Fields (ACF).This issue affects Advanced Custom Fields (ACF): from 3.1.1 through 6.0.2.

Published: 2024-01-08 Last update: 2026-04-28 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2022-40696 is rated Low Risk (37.6/100): CVSS Low severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.50%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-40696

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-05-29 0.37% 0.50% +0.13%
2 2025-03-30 1.56% 0.37% -1.20%
3 2025-03-29 1.56%

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-40696

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
3.7 3.1 LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
2.2 1.4 [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
3.9 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-40696

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2022-40696

GHSA-vxh3-27qh-7gv3 · Severity: low — Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor vulnerability in WP Engine Advanced...

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-40696

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
advancedcustomfields advanced_custom_fields >= 3.1.1, <= 6.0.2 cpe:2.3:a:advancedcustomfields:advanced_custom_fields:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*

References for CVE-2022-40696

cvelogic Threat Intelligence