How to Fix CVE-2026-22473: Unsafe deserialization in Dental Clinic

By Sai Kiran Pandrala. Last verified: 2026-05-25.

CVE-2026-22473 is a unsafe deserialization in designthemes Dental Clinic. The fix is to apply the vendor patch noted below.

What is CVE-2026-22473?

Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in designthemes Dental Clinic dental allows Object Injection.This issue affects Dental Clinic: from n/a through <= 3.7. The CVSS base score is 8.8 (High), which puts this in the upper risk band and warrants a fast patch cycle. The official advisory is at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/dental/vulnerability/wordpress-dental-clinic-theme-3-7-php-object-injection-vulnerability?_s_id=cve.

Am I affected?

Check the version of Dental Clinic you are running and compare it against the Affected row above (Dental Clinic 0 to <=3.7). If your build sits inside the affected range, you must patch.

Run the version check that fits your platform:

# Linux package check
dpkg -s dental-clinic 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
rpm -q dental-clinic 2>/dev/null
command -v dental-clinic >/dev/null && dental-clinic --version 2>/dev/null

# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-Package -Name "*Dental Clinic*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Name, Version
winget list --name "Dental Clinic" 2>$null

How to fix CVE-2026-22473

Upgrade Dental Clinic to a patched build: See vendor advisory. The vendor advisory is the source of truth for the exact fixed version.

Ubuntu / Debian

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade dental-clinic
dpkg -s dental-clinic | grep -i ^Version

RHEL / CentOS / Rocky / AlmaLinux

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh dental-clinic -y
# or for older releases:
sudo yum update dental-clinic -y
rpm -q dental-clinic

SUSE / openSUSE

sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper update dental-clinic
rpm -q dental-clinic

Node.js / npm

# Update the affected package in your project
npm install Dental Clinic@latest
npm ls Dental Clinic
npm audit fix

Complete PowerShell remediation script (Windows)

# Fix script for CVE-2026-22473 affecting Dental Clinic
# Run as administrator. Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
$LogPath  = "C:\Logs\CVE-2026-22473-fix-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmmss).log"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force (Split-Path $LogPath) | Out-Null
Start-Transcript -Path $LogPath -Append

try {
    Write-Host "[1/4] Detect installed version"
    $pkg = Get-Package -Name "*Dental Clinic*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($pkg) { $pkg | Format-Table Name, Version }
    else { Write-Host "Not detected via Get-Package; try winget list" }

    Write-Host "[2/4] Backup configuration"
    $backup = "C:\Backup\dental-clinic-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd)"
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $backup | Out-Null
    Get-ChildItem "C:\ProgramData\Dental Clinic" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
        Copy-Item -Destination $backup -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

    Write-Host "[3/4] Apply the upgrade to See vendor advisory"
    winget upgrade --name "Dental Clinic" --silent --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
        # Fallback: pull latest via OS update channel
        Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Force -SkipPublisherCheck -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate
        Install-WindowsUpdate -MicrosoftUpdate -AcceptAll -IgnoreReboot
    }

    Write-Host "[4/4] Verify the patched build"
    winget list --name "Dental Clinic"
    Write-Host "Patch applied. Reboot if prompted."
    exit 0
} catch {
    Write-Error "Patch failed: $_"
    exit 1
} finally {
    Stop-Transcript
}

Complete Bash remediation script (Linux)

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Fix script for CVE-2026-22473 affecting Dental Clinic
# Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

set -euo pipefail
LOG="/var/log/cve-2026-22473-fix-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).log"
exec > >(tee -a "$LOG") 2>&1

echo "[1/4] Detect installed version"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s dental-clinic 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version || echo "dental-clinic not installed via dpkg"
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q dental-clinic || echo "dental-clinic not installed via rpm"
fi

echo "[2/4] Backup configuration"
BACKUP="/root/backup-cve-2026-22473-$(date +%Y%m%d)"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP"
for d in /etc/dental-clinic /etc/dental-clinic.d /etc/dental-clinic.conf; do
    [ -e "$d" ] && cp -a "$d" "$BACKUP/" || true
done

echo "[3/4] Apply the upgrade (target: See vendor advisory)"
if command -v apt-get >/dev/null; then
    apt-get update
    apt-get install --only-upgrade -y dental-clinic
elif command -v dnf >/dev/null; then
    dnf upgrade --refresh -y dental-clinic
elif command -v yum >/dev/null; then
    yum update -y dental-clinic
elif command -v zypper >/dev/null; then
    zypper --non-interactive update dental-clinic
fi

echo "[4/4] Verify the patched build"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s dental-clinic 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q dental-clinic
fi
echo "Done. Restart any service that loaded the old library."

If you can't patch immediately

Apply at least one of the following inline controls until you can deploy the patched build. None replace the upgrade.

Restrict exposure with nftables (Linux)

# Allow only trusted CIDR to reach the affected service ports
sudo nft add table inet filter 2>/dev/null || true
sudo nft 'add chain inet filter input { type filter hook input priority 0 ; }' 2>/dev/null || true
sudo nft 'add rule inet filter input tcp dport {80, 443} ip saddr != 10.0.0.0/8 drop'
sudo nft list ruleset

Block at the host firewall (Windows)

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block-CVE-2026-22473" -Direction Inbound -Action Block -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 80,443 -RemoteAddress Any -Enabled True
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block-CVE-2026-22473"

Disable the affected service (Linux)

sudo systemctl stop dental-clinic 2>/dev/null || true
sudo systemctl disable dental-clinic 2>/dev/null || true

If the vendor advisory lists an official workaround, prefer that wording verbatim. If no workaround is published, the only safe remediation is the patch.

How to verify the fix worked

After upgrading, confirm the installed version matches the patched build and that no old library is still loaded by a long-running process.

# Linux
dpkg -s dental-clinic 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
rpm -q dental-clinic 2>/dev/null || true
# Pid map check for old library handles
sudo lsof +c0 2>/dev/null | grep -i "DEL.*lib" || true

# Windows
Get-Package -Name "*Dental Clinic*" | Select-Object Name, Version
Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 5

Expected: the reported version is at or above See vendor advisory. Restart the affected service (systemctl restart <service> on Linux, or restart the Windows service) so it loads the patched binary.

Frequently asked questions

Related fixes

Other vulnerabilities in the same area that are worth patching alongside this one:

• How to Fix CVE-2026-30237: Cross-site scripting in groupoffice — Cross-site scripting in groupoffice
• How to Fix CVE-2026-34187: SQL Injection in Pandora FMS — SQL Injection in Pandora FMS
• How to Fix CVE-2026-3763: Cross Site Scripting in Simple Flight Ticket Booking System , Cross Site Scripting in Simple Flight Ticket Booking System
• How to Fix CVE-2026-30807: Cross-Site Request Forgery in Pandora FMS , Cross-Site Request Forgery in Pandora FMS
• How to Fix CVE-2026-1640: Critical Vulnerability in Taskbuilder – Project Management & Task Management Tool With Kanban Board , Critical Vulnerability in Taskbuilder – Project Management & Task Management Tool With Kanban Board

Is CVE-2026-22473 actively exploited?

There is no public confirmation of exploitation in the wild listed in CISA KEV at the time of this writing. Patch anyway. Public exploits commonly follow disclosure within weeks.

Do I need to reboot after patching CVE-2026-22473?

For kernel and OS-level updates, yes. For most userland packages a systemctl restart <service> is enough on Linux, and restarting the Windows service or app on Windows. Any process that loaded the old library keeps using it until restarted.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-22473?

8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Where is the official advisory for CVE-2026-22473?

The vendor advisory is at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/dental/vulnerability/wordpress-dental-clinic-theme-3-7-php-object-injection-vulnerability?_s_id=cve. The NVD record is at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-22473.

References

• Official vendor advisory: https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/dental/vulnerability/wordpress-dental-clinic-theme-3-7-php-object-injection-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
• NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-22473
• CISA KEV catalog: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog

*Written by Sai Kiran Pandrala. Assembled from the official vendor advisory, NVD record, and CISA KEV listing on 2026-05-25. Always confirm against the vendor's advisory before applying changes in production.*