WPCode <= 2.3.5 - Authenticated (Author+) Remote Code Execution via CPT Capability Bypass via XML-RPC wp.newPost

The WPCode - Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets - WordPress Code Manager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in versions up to, and including, 2.3.5 This is due to the 'wpcode' custom post type being registered without a custom capability_type or capability restrictions in the wpcode_register_post_type() function, allowing WordPress core to fall back to standard post capabilities for all creation paths including XML-RPC. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with author-level access and above, to create and publish executable PHP snippet posts via XML-RPC wp.newPost, which are then executed server-side via eval() in the run_eval() function when the snippet is rendered through the [wpcode] shortcode.

An attacker needs Author access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. 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: WPCode 2.3.6 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

• Firewall
• Scanner
• Alerts