How severe is CVE-2022-46170?

CVE-2022-46170 has a CVSS score of 8.6/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-46170?

CVE-2022-46170 affects the following packages: codeigniter4/framework (Packagist). Ecosystems affected: Packagist.

How do I fix CVE-2022-46170?

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.

How do I detect CVE-2022-46170 in my Packagist dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for codeigniter4/framework, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-46170 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.

Is CVE-2022-46170 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2022-46170 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-46170?

CVE-2022-46170 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.9%, placing it in the 60th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2022-46170?

CVE-2022-46170 is classified as Improper Authentication (CWE-287). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2022-46170 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-46170 was published on December 22, 2022 and was last updated on October 28, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐘

🐘 Packagist

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2022-46170 — framework

HIGHFix: codeigniter4/CodeIgniter4@f9fb657

CVE-2022-46170 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.6) Improper Authentication vulnerability in codeigniter4/framework. A fix is available for codeigniter4/framework — see the affected versions and patch details below.

CodeIgniter is vulnerable to improper authentication via Session Handlers

Also known asBIT-codeigniter-2022-46170GHSA-6cq5-8cj7-g558

Published

Dec 22, 2022

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 4, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

No confirmed exploitation observed yet

CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-46170.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.9%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs60th percentile — riskier than 60% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

🐘codeigniter4/framework

Real-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

Impact

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).

Patches

Upgrade to version 4.2.11 or later.

Workarounds

Use only one session cookie.

References

https://codeigniter4.github.io/userguide/libraries/sessions.html#session-drivers

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Open an issue in codeigniter4/CodeIgniter4
Email us at SECURITY.md

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐘Packagist	`codeigniter4/framework`	all versions	4.2.11`composer require codeigniter4/framework:^4.2.11`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

codeignitercodeigniter

≥ 4.0.0 && < 4.2.11

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for codeigniter4/framework, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
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
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact 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). ### Patches Upgrade to version 4.2.11 or later. ### Workarounds - Use only one session cookie. ### References - https://codeigniter4.github.io/userguide/libraries/sessions.html#session-drivers ### For more information I