CVE-2022-28209Network attack vector

Incorrect account-creation eligibility via inverted permission check

Published Mar 30, 2022 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Improper permission checking in MediaWiki through 1.37.1 allows remote attackers to obtain incorrect AntiSpoof account-creation results. AntiSpoofPreAuthenticationProvider omits a negation, so its cancreate branch runs the username-confusability test for users with override-antispoof rather than users without it. Unauthenticated API access reaches this path, but it supplies only eligibility checks and client-side messages, not account-creation enforcement; Wikimedia deployments use unaffected CentralAuth code.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability1.32%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper permission checking in MediaWiki through 1.37.1 allows remote attackers to obtain incorrect AntiSpoof account-creation results. AntiSpoofPreAuthenticationProvider omits a negation, so its cancreate branch runs the username-confusability test for users with override-antispoof rather than users without it. Unauthenticated API access reaches this path, but it supplies only eligibility checks and client-side messages, not account-creation enforcement; Wikimedia deployments use unaffected CentralAuth code.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-28209
Published
Mar 30, 2022
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 30, 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.5NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

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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