WordPress hCaptcha for WP Plugin <= 4.21.1 is vulnerable to Broken Access Control
Get the fastest vulnerability mitigation with Patchstack!
Get startedRisks
CVSS 5.3Vulnerabilities like this one are used in mass-exploit campaigns. Attackers use these to attack thousands of websites at a time, regardless of traffic size or popularity. Learn more.
As immediate action, update the affected plugin. If you're unable to do so, ask your hosting provider or web developer for help.
Note by Patchstack
The vulnerability is limited to the CAPTCHA mechanism intended to protect a publicly accessible form from automated abuse. It does not impact WordPress-level authentication or authorization controls.
5.3
Broken Access Control
A broken access control issue refers to a missing authorization, authentication or nonce token check in a function that could lead to an unprivileged user to executing a certain higher privileged action.
CVSS score is a way to evaluate and rank reported vulnerabilities in a standardized and repeatable way but which is not ideal for WordPress.
Solutions
This security issue has a low severity impact and is unlikely to be exploited.
Update to version 4.22.0 or later.
Update to version 4.22.0 or later to resolve the vulnerability. Patchstack users can turn on auto-update for vulnerable plugins only.
Details
Timeline
.png)
27 Dec, 2025