Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2019-9787

WordPress before 5.1.1 does not properly filter comment content, leading to Remote Code Execution by unauthenticated users in a default configuration. This occurs because CSRF protection is mishandled, and because Search Engine Optimization of A elements is performed incorrectly, leading to XSS. The XSS results in administrative access, which allows arbitrary changes to .php files. This is related to wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php and wp-includes/comment.php.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 8.8, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity though user interaction is required and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from wordpress organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

First disclosed in 2019, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.

Published

2019-03-14T16:29:00.337

Last Modified

2024-11-21T04:52:18.487

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.0: 8.8 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: MEDIUM
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: PARTIAL
Integrity Impact: PARTIAL
Availability Impact: PARTIAL

Exploitability Score

8.6

Impact Score

6.4

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-352

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	wordpress	wordpress	< 5.1.1	Yes

References

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/107411 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://blog.ripstech.com/2019/wordpress-csrf-to-rce/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://github.com/WordPress/WordPress/commit/0292de60ec78c5a44956765189403654fe4d080b Patch, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/03/msg00044.html ([email protected])
https://wordpress.org/news/2019/03/wordpress-5-1-1-security-and-maintenance-release/ Release Notes, Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
https://wordpress.org/support/wordpress-version/version-5-1-1/ Release Notes, Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9230 ([email protected])
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4677 ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/107411 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://blog.ripstech.com/2019/wordpress-csrf-to-rce/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://github.com/WordPress/WordPress/commit/0292de60ec78c5a44956765189403654fe4d080b Patch, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/03/msg00044.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://wordpress.org/news/2019/03/wordpress-5-1-1-security-and-maintenance-release/ Release Notes, Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://wordpress.org/support/wordpress-version/version-5-1-1/ Release Notes, Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9230 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4677 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For wordpress's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.