CVE-2021-24893Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Comment-interface denial of service via oversized rating

Published Jan 3, 2022 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Denial of service in the Stars Rating WordPress plugin before 3.5.1 allows remote attackers to disrupt comment interfaces via oversized ratings. The comment endpoint accepts an unbounded rating integer; rendering in stars-rating-public.php then consumes memory until PHP reaches its configured limit. Ratings must be enabled on the targeted content; unauthenticated submissions disrupt the pending-comment dashboard, while authenticated submissions prevent the post's comment section from loading.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability1.55%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in the Stars Rating WordPress plugin before 3.5.1 allows remote attackers to disrupt comment interfaces via oversized ratings. The comment endpoint accepts an unbounded rating integer; rendering in stars-rating-public.php then consumes memory until PHP reaches its configured limit. Ratings must be enabled on the targeted content; unauthenticated submissions disrupt the pending-comment dashboard, while authenticated submissions prevent the post's comment section from loading.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-24893
Published
Jan 3, 2022
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Fahid Javid
Product
Stars Rating
Classifications
CWE-20, CWE-400, T1499
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 3, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=3.5.1 <3.5.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Fahid Javid · Stars Ratingversion=3.5.1 <3.5.1

Published CVSS scores

5.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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