CVE-2021-4428Network attack vector

Sensitive settings disclosure via wholesale option serialization

Published Jul 18, 2023 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Information disclosure in what3words Address Field 4.0.0 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to read stored plugin settings. The enqueue_scripts function serialized the complete WordPress option record into a page-level JavaScript constant instead of selecting only required front-end fields. VulDB scores exploitation as requiring administrator privileges, while NVD scores it as unauthenticated; published sources do not resolve the access-gate conflict.

CVSS severity2.7
Low
EPSS probability15.81%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Information disclosure in what3words Address Field 4.0.0 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to read stored plugin settings. The enqueue_scripts function serialized the complete WordPress option record into a page-level JavaScript constant instead of selecting only required front-end fields. VulDB scores exploitation as requiring administrator privileges, while NVD scores it as unauthenticated; published sources do not resolve the access-gate conflict.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-4428
Published
Jul 18, 2023
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
what3words
Product
what3words AutoSuggest jQuery Plugin
Classifications
CWE-200
Attack vector
network
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 18, 2023CVE 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=4.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

what3words · what3words AutoSuggest jQuery Pluginversion=4.0

Published CVSS scores

3.3VulDBAV:N/AC:L/Au:M/C:P/I:N/A:N
2.7VulDBCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-200Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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