CSRF in WordPress
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.
Vulnerability class: CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery)
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.387 (98.5th percentile), scored .
Moderate probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — watch for active exploitation reports. 99th percentile — 98.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.387 · newest: 0.387 · change: 0.000
Affected products
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- blog.ripstech.com/2019/wordpress-csrf-to-rce/ (Exploit, Third Party Advisory)
- wordpress.org/news/2019/03/wordpress-5-1-1-security-and-maintenance-release/ (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
- github.com/WordPress/WordPress/commit/0292de60ec78c5a44956765189403654fe4d080b (Patch, Third Party Advisory)
- wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9230
- www.securityfocus.com/bid/107411 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry)
- wordpress.org/support/wordpress-version/version-5-1-1/ (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/03/msg00044.html (mailing-list)
- www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4677 (vendor-advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2019-9787?
- CVE-2019-9787 is a high-severity vulnerability in WordPress, classified under Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF). CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2019-03-14.
- How severe is CVE-2019-9787?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2019-9787 known to be exploited?
- 27 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.