#VU43515 Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls in WordPress - CVE-2012-4421

Vulnerability identifier: #VU43515

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 1.2 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2012-4421

CWE-ID: CWE-264

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
WordPress
Web applications / CMS

Vendor: WordPress.ORG

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote #AU# to manipulate data.

The create_post function in wp-includes/class-wp-atom-server.php in WordPress before 3.4.2 does not perform a capability check, which allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions and publish new posts by leveraging the Contributor role and using the Atom Publishing Protocol (aka AtomPub) feature.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

WordPress: 0.71, 1.0 - 1.0.2, 1.1.1, 1.2 - 1.2.5, 1.3, 1.3.2, 1.3.3, 1.5 - 1.5.2, 2.0 - 2.0.11, 2.1 - 2.1.3, 2.2 - 2.2.3, 2.3 - 2.3.3, 2.5 - 2.5.1, 2.6 - 2.6.5, 2.7 - 2.7.1, 2.8 - 2.8.6, 2.9 - 2.9.2, 3.0 - 3.0.6, 3.1 - 3.1.4, 3.2 - 3.2.1, 3.3 - 3.3.3, 3.4.0

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External links
https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_3.4.2
https://core.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?old_path=%2Ftags%2F3.4.1&old=21780&new_path=%2Ftags%2F3.4.2&new=21780#file2
https://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/09/13/4

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote authenticated privileged user via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.