CVE-2013-2202

WordPress Core < 3.5.2 - XXE Injection

2013-06-21 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 3.5.2
Affected Core: WordPress 3.5
Affected Version: <= 3.5.1
CVSS: 5.4Medium
Weakness type: CWE-611 · Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference
CVE: CVE-2013-2202

At a glance

CVE-2013-2202 is a medium-severity Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference vulnerability in the WordPress 3.5 WordPress release line, affecting <= 3.5.1. It carries a CVSS score of 5.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The issue is fixed in version 3.5.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2013.

Vulnerability Overview

WordPress before 3.5.2 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via an oEmbed XML provider response containing an external entity declaration in conjunction with an entity reference, related to an XML External Entity (XXE) issue.

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.

CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output.

Remediation

Update to version 3.5.2, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to WordPress 3.5: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: updating to 3.5.2 is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-2202 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/65465de9-c527-4b18-8a52-c9cd2d594f72 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-2202

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in WordPress 3.5

CVSS Vector

5.4

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

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityLow
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityNone

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