CVE-2008-0664

WordPress Core < 2.3.3 - Improper Authorization Checks

2007-09-08 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 2.3.3
Affected Core: WordPress 2.3
Affected Version: <= 2.3.2
CVSS: 6.5Medium
Weakness type: CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE: CVE-2008-0664

At a glance

CVE-2008-0664 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the WordPress 2.3 WordPress release line, affecting <= 2.3.2. It carries a CVSS score of 6.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high integrity impact). The issue is fixed in version 2.3.3; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2007.

Vulnerability Overview

The XML-RPC implementation (xmlrpc.php) in WordPress before 2.3.3, when registration is enabled, allows remote attackers to edit posts of other blog users via unknown vectors.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on integrity.

CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

Reaching this weakness in WordPress 2.3 <= 2.3.2 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Authorization bypass through a user-controlled key, often called insecure direct object reference, means the application looks up a record by an identifier from the request without checking that the caller owns it.

Changing a number in the request is enough to read or modify other users' records, which on commerce and membership sites means customer data. For WordPress 2.3 the fix is 2.3.3: builds <= 2.3.2 are affected, anything from 2.3.3 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.3.3, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

Because it turns on account access, WordSec's login security is the relevant layer: role-based two-factor, captcha and brute-force limits raise the cost of getting the account this needs. None of that substitutes for the fix: updating to 2.3.3 is the step that ends it.

Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-0664 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/940aabdc-e98e-45be-87dd-cafae45f2474 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-0664

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in WordPress 2.3

CVSS Vector

6.5

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityNone

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