CVE-2022-46170
HIGHCVE-2022-46170 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.6) Improper Authentication vulnerability in codeigniter4/framework. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2022-46170 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
CodeIgniter is vulnerable to improper authentication via Session Handlers
Blast Radius
codeigniter4/frameworkReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
CodeIgniter is a PHP full-stack web framework. When an application uses (1) multiple session cookies (e.g., one for user pages and one for admin pages) and (2) a session handler is set to DatabaseHandler, MemcachedHandler, or RedisHandler, then if an attacker gets one session cookie (e.g., one for user pages), they may be able to access pages that require another session cookie (e.g., for admin pages). This issue has been patched, please upgrade to version 4.2.11 or later. As a workaround, use only one session cookie.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | codeigniter4/framework | all versions | 4.2.11 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for codeigniter4/framework. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update codeigniter4/framework to 4.2.11 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-46170 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2022-46170 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2022-46170. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-46170 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2022-46170 across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.