CVE-2021-39200

WordPress Core 5.4 - 5.8 - Sensitive Information Disclosure

2021-09-09 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 5.4.7
Affected Core: WordPress 5.8
Affected Version: 5.4 – < 5.8.1 · 5 branches
CVSS: 5.3Medium
Weakness type: CWE-200 · Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
CVE: CVE-2021-39200

At a glance

CVE-2021-39200 is a medium-severity Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor vulnerability in the WordPress 5.8 WordPress release line, affecting 5.4 – < 5.8.1 · 5 branches. It carries a CVSS score of 5.3 (reachable over the network; high confidentiality impact). The issue is fixed in version 5.4.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2021, reported by @mdawaffe.

Vulnerability Overview

WordPress is a free and open-source content management system written in PHP and paired with a MySQL or MariaDB database. In affected versions output data of the function wp_die() can be leaked under certain conditions, which can include data like nonces. It can then be used to perform actions on your behalf. This has been patched in WordPress 5.8.1, along with any older affected versions via minor releases. It's strongly recommended that you keep auto-updates enabled to receive the fix.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality.

CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

WordPress 5.8 5.4 – < 5.8.1 · 5 branches carries this weakness at wp_die(), and reaching it takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Sensitive information exposure means data the application intended to keep internal is returned to a caller who should not be able to see it.

The disclosed data — credentials, tokens, customer records or internal paths — is usually worth more as material for a follow-up attack than as an end in itself. For WordPress 5.8 the fix is 5.4.7: builds 5.4 – < 5.8.1 · 5 branches are affected, anything from 5.4.7 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to one of the following versions, or a newer patched version: 5.4.7, 5.5.6, 5.6.5, 5.7.3, 5.8.1

How does WordSec protect against this?

The fix is the thing that ends this: updating to 5.4.7 is the step that ends it.

Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-39200 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/7b851fd6-1477-4370-abf9-42ae2b6f8899 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-39200

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in WordPress 5.8

CVSS Vector

5.3

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

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityNone

This record contains material that is subject to copyright

CVE Usage: MITRE hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE®). Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.

https://www.cve.org/Legal/TermsOfUse

Defiant hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute this software vulnerability information. Any copy of the software vulnerability information you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you include a hyperlink to this vulnerability record and reproduce Defiant's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.

https://www.wordfence.com/wordfence-intelligence-terms-and-conditions/