CVE-2007-1277

WordPress Core 2.2.1 - Backdoor

2007-03-03 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 2.2.2
Affected Core: WordPress 2.2
Affected Version: 2.2.1
CVSS: 9.8Critical
Weakness type: CWE-506 · Embedded Malicious Code
CVE: CVE-2007-1277

At a glance

CVE-2007-1277 is a critical-severity Embedded Malicious Code vulnerability in the WordPress 2.2 WordPress release line, affecting 2.2.1. It carries a CVSS score of 9.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.2.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2007, reported by Ivan Fratric.

Vulnerability Overview

WordPress 2.1.1, as downloaded from some official distribution sites during February and March 2007, contains an externally introduced backdoor that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via (1) an eval injection vulnerability in the ix parameter to wp-includes/feed.php, and (2) an untrusted passthru call in the iz parameter to wp-includes/theme.php.

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 privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-506: Embedded Malicious Code

Reaching this weakness in WordPress 2.2 2.2.1 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Embedded malicious code means functionality was deliberately placed in the software to act against the site owner's interest, rather than being an accidental defect.

Removing the software is not enough on its own — anything it created or modified while active has to be audited too. For WordPress 2.2 the fix is 2.2.2: builds 2.2.1 are affected, anything from 2.2.2 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.2.2, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

Classes like this one can leave something behind, so the staged malware scanner is the second half: it looks for dropped files and modified code rather than for the request that created them. None of that substitutes for the fix: updating to 2.2.2 is the step that ends it.

Scanner
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2007-1277 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/e5539ad8-4203-4d22-9a40-0ed6e0471e19 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2007-1277

Related records

Same weakness class

9.8WordPress Core 2.1.1 Supply Chain Compromise

Other vulnerabilities in WordPress 2.2

CVSS Vector

9.8

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

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh

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