WordPress security changelog
MEDIUM CVE-2019-20043 Modified

WordPress 5.3.1, along with all the previous WordPress: A security weakness

WordPress 5.3.1, along with all the previous WordPress 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.

CVE / CNA score 4.3 CVSS · cve@mitre.org
NVD score 4.3 CVSS 3.1 · nvd@nist.gov
Component
WordPress 5.3.1, along with all the previous WordPress
Plugin slug
Not applicable
Affected
See vendor advisory
Safe version
See mitigation notes
Published
Dec 27, 2019
Weakness
CWE-269 — Improper Privilege Management
What to do

Update, patch or deactivate.

Update WordPress 5.3.1, along with all the previous WordPress 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.

Source record

Technical description

In in wp-includes/rest-api/endpoints/class-wp-rest-posts-controller.php in WordPress 3.7 to 5.3.0, authenticated users who do not have the rights to publish a post are able to mark posts as sticky or unsticky via the REST API. For example, the contributor role does not have such rights, but this allowed them to bypass that. This has been patched in WordPress 5.3.1, along with all the previous WordPress versions from 3.7 to 5.3 via a minor release.

NVD vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

References

Primary and upstream sources