WordPress component: A security weakness
WordPress component is affected by a security weakness. Exposure depends on how the affected operation is made reachable by the site. The resulting impact depends on how the affected component exposes the vulnerable operation.
- Component
- WordPress component
- Plugin slug
- Not applicable
- Affected
- See vendor advisory
- Safe version
- See mitigation notes
- Published
- Jan 30, 2012
Update, patch or deactivate.
Update WordPress component to a release outside the affected range, or disable and remove it until a fixed version is available.
No confirmed safe version is listed. Consider a vendor-supported patch or temporarily restricting the affected functionality while you assess the risk.
Deactivate only when warranted by your risk profile, or when advised by your hosting provider in the limited circumstances where the vulnerability cannot otherwise be mitigated. If you’re unsure which action is appropriate, contact Fused or your hosting provider for guidance.
Technical description
wp-admin/setup-config.php in the installation component in WordPress 3.3.1 and earlier generates different error messages for requests lacking a dbname parameter depending on whether the MySQL credentials are valid, which makes it easier for remote attackers to conduct brute-force attacks via a series of requests with different uname and pwd parameters. NOTE: the vendor disputes the significance of this issue; also, it is unclear whether providing intentionally vague error messages during installation would be reasonable from a usability perspective
NVD vector: AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P