Category Archives: Wordpress

Wordpress

WordPress 4.7.3 Security and Maintenance Release

WordPress 4.7.3 is now available. This is a security release for all previous versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately.

WordPress versions 4.7.2 and earlier are affected by six security issues:

  1. Cross-site scripting (XSS) via media file metadata.  Reported by Chris Andrè Dale, Yorick Koster, and Simon P. Briggs.
  2. Control characters can trick redirect URL validation.  Reported by Daniel Chatfield.
  3. Unintended files can be deleted by administrators using the plugin deletion functionality.  Reported by xuliang.
  4. Cross-site scripting (XSS) via video URL in YouTube embeds.  Reported by Marc Montpas.
  5. Cross-site scripting (XSS) via taxonomy term names.  Reported by Delta.
  6. Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) in Press This leading to excessive use of server resources.  Reported by Sipke Mellema.

Thank you to the reporters for practicing responsible disclosure.

In addition to the security issues above, WordPress 4.7.3 contains 39 maintenance fixes to the 4.7 release series. For more information, see the release notes or consult the list of changes.

Download WordPress 4.7.3 or venture over to Dashboard → Updates and simply click “Update Now.” Sites that support automatic background updates are already beginning to update to WordPress 4.7.3.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to 4.7.3: Aaron D. Campbell, Adam Silverstein, Alex Concha, Andrea Fercia, Andrew Ozz, asalce, blobfolio, bonger, Boone Gorges, Boro Sitnikovski, Brady Vercher, Brandon Lavigne, Bunty, ccprog, chetansatasiya, David A. Kennedy, David Herrera, Dhanendran, Dion Hulse, Dominik Schilling (ocean90), Drivingralle, Ella Van Dorpe, Gary Pendergast, Ian Dunn, Ipstenu (Mika Epstein), James Nylen, jazbek, Jeremy Felt, Jeremy Pry, Joe Hoyle, Joe McGill, John Blackbourn, John James Jacoby, Jonathan Desrosiers, Kelly Dwan, Marko Heijnen, MatheusGimenez, Mike Nelson, Mike Schroder, Muhammet Arslan, Nick Halsey, Pascal Birchler, Paul Bearne, pavelevap, Peter Wilson, Rachel Baker, reldev, Robert O’Rourke, Ryan Welcher, Sanket Parmar, Sean Hayes, Sergey Biryukov, Stephen Edgar, triplejumper12, Weston Ruter, and wpfo.

WordPress 4.7.2 Security Release

WordPress 4.7.2 is now available. This is a security release for all previous versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately.

WordPress versions 4.7.1 and earlier are affected by three security issues:

  1. The user interface for assigning taxonomy terms in Press This is shown to users who do not have permissions to use it. Reported by David Herrera of Alley Interactive.
  2. WP_Query is vulnerable to a SQL injection (SQLi) when passing unsafe data. WordPress core is not directly vulnerable to this issue, but we’ve added hardening to prevent plugins and themes from accidentally causing a vulnerability. Reported by Mo Jangda (batmoo).
  3. A cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability was discovered in the posts list table. Reported by Ian Dunn of the WordPress Security Team.

Thank you to the reporters of these issues for practicing responsible disclosure.

Download WordPress 4.7.2 or venture over to Dashboard → Updates and simply click “Update Now.” Sites that support automatic background updates are already beginning to update to WordPress 4.7.2.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to 4.7.2.

WordPress 4.7.1 Security and Maintenance Release

WordPress 4.7 has been downloaded over 10 million times since its release on December 6, 2016 and we are pleased to announce the immediate availability of WordPress 4.7.1. This is a security release for all previous versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately.

WordPress versions 4.7 and earlier are affected by eight security issues:

  1. Remote code execution (RCE) in PHPMailer – No specific issue appears to affect WordPress or any of the major plugins we investigated but, out of an abundance of caution, we updated PHPMailer in this release. This issue was reported to PHPMailer by Dawid Golunski and Paul Buonopane.
  2. The REST API exposed user data for all users who had authored a post of a public post type. WordPress 4.7.1 limits this to only post types which have specified that they should be shown within the REST API. Reported by Krogsgard and Chris Jean.
  3. Cross-site scripting (XSS) via the plugin name or version header on update-core.php. Reported by Dominik Schilling of the WordPress Security Team.
  4. Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) bypass via uploading a Flash file. Reported by Abdullah Hussam.
  5. Cross-site scripting (XSS) via theme name fallback. Reported by Mehmet Ince.
  6. Post via email checks mail.example.com if default settings aren’t changed. Reported by John Blackbourn of the WordPress Security Team.
  7. A cross-site request forgery (CSRF) was discovered in the accessibility mode of widget editing. Reported by Ronnie Skansing.
  8. Weak cryptographic security for multisite activation key. Reported by Jack.

Thank you to the reporters for practicing responsible disclosure.

In addition to the security issues above, WordPress 4.7.1 fixes 62 bugs from 4.7. For more information, see the release notes or consult the list of changes.

Download WordPress 4.7.1 or venture over to Dashboard → Updates and simply click “Update Now.” Sites that support automatic background updates are already beginning to update to WordPress 4.7.1.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to 4.7.1: Aaron D. Campbell, Aaron Jorbin, Adam Silverstein, Andrea Fercia, Andrew Ozz, bonger, Boone Gorges, Chandra Patel, David Herrera, David Shanske, Dion Hulse, Dominik Schilling (ocean90), DreamOn11, Edwin Cromley, Ella van Dorpe, Gary Pendergast, James Nylen, Jeff Bowen, Jeremy Felt, Jeremy Pry, Joe McGill, John Blackbourn, Keanan Koppenhaver, Konstantin Obenland, laurelfulford, Marin Atanasov, mattyrob, monikarao, Nate Reist, Nick Halsey, Nikhil Chavan, nullvariable, Payton Swick, Peter Wilson, Presskopp, Rachel Baker, Ryan McCue, Sanket Parmar, Sebastian Pisula, sfpt, shazahm1, Stanimir Stoyanov, Steven Word, szaqal21, timph, voldemortensen, vortfu, and Weston Ruter.

WordPress 4.6.1 Security and Maintenance Release

WordPress 4.6.1 is now available. This is a security release for all previous versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately.

WordPress versions 4.6 and earlier are affected by two security issues: a cross-site scripting vulnerability via image filename, reported by SumOfPwn researcher Cengiz Han Sahin; and a path traversal vulnerability in the upgrade package uploader, reported by Dominik Schilling from the WordPress security team.

Thank you to the reporters for practicing responsible disclosure.

In addition to the security issues above, WordPress 4.6.1 fixes 15 bugs from 4.6. For more information, see the release notes or consult the list of changes.

Download WordPress 4.6.1 or venture over to Dashboard → Updates and simply click “Update Now.” Sites that support automatic background updates are already beginning to update to WordPress 4.6.1.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to 4.6.1:

Andrew OzzbongerBoone GorgesChaos EngineDaniel Kanchev, Dion Hulse, Drew Jaynes, Felix ArntzFredrik ForsmoGary PendergastgeminorumIan Dunn, Ionut Stanciu, Jeremy Felt, Joe McGillMarius L. J. (Clorith)Pascal BirchlerRobert D PayneSergey Biryukov, and Triet Minh.

WordPress 4.5.3 Maintenance and Security Release

WordPress 4.5.3 is now available. This is a security release for all previous versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately.

WordPress versions 4.5.2 and earlier are affected by several security issues: redirect bypass in the customizer, reported by Yassine Aboukir; two different XSS problems via attachment names, reported by Jouko Pynnönen and Divyesh Prajapati; revision history information disclosure, reported independently by John Blackbourn from the WordPress security team and by Dan Moen; oEmbed denial of service reported by Jennifer Dodd from Automattic; unauthorized category removal from a post, reported by David Herrera from Alley Interactive; password change via stolen cookie, reported by Michael Adams from the WordPress security team; and some less secure sanitize_file_name edge cases reported by Peter Westwood of  the WordPress security team.

Thank you to the reporters for practicing responsible disclosure.

In addition to the security issues above, WordPress 4.5.3 fixes 17 bugs from 4.5, 4.5.1 and 4.5.2. For more information, see the release notes or consult the list of changes.

Download WordPress 4.5.3 or venture over to Dashboard → Updates and simply click “Update Now.” Sites that support automatic background updates are already beginning to update to WordPress 4.5.3.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to 4.5.3:

Boone Gorges, Silvan Hagenvortfu, Eric Andrew LewisNikolay Bachiyski,  Michael Adams, Jeremy FeltDominik SchillingWeston RuterDion HulseRachel BakerAlex ConchaJennifer M. DoddBrandon Kraft, Gary Pendergast, Ella Iseulde Van Dorpe, Joe McGill, Pascal Birchler, Sergey BiryukovDavid Herrera and Adam Silverstein.

WordPress 4.5.2 Security Release

WordPress 4.5.2 is now available. This is a security release for all previous versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately.

WordPress versions 4.5.1 and earlier are affected by a SOME vulnerability through Plupload, the third-party library WordPress uses for uploading files. WordPress versions 4.2 through 4.5.1 are vulnerable to reflected XSS using specially crafted URIs through MediaElement.js, the third-party library used for media players. MediaElement.js and Plupload have also released updates fixing these issues.

Both issues were analyzed and reported by Mario Heiderich, Masato Kinugawa, and Filedescriptor from Cure53. Thanks to the team for practicing responsible disclosure, and to the Plupload and MediaElement.js teams for working closely with us to coördinate and fix these issues.

Download WordPress 4.5.2 or venture over to Dashboard → Updates and simply click “Update Now.” Sites that support automatic background updates are already beginning to update to WordPress 4.5.2.

Additionally, there are multiple widely publicized vulnerabilities in the ImageMagick image processing library, which is used by a number of hosts and is supported in WordPress. For our current response to these issues, see this post on the core development blog.

WordPress 4.4.2 Security and Maintenance Release

WordPress 4.4.2 is now available. This is a security release for all previous versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately.

WordPress versions 4.4.1 and earlier are affected by two security issues: a possible SSRF for certain local URIs, reported by Ronni Skansing; and an open redirection attack, reported by Shailesh Suthar.

Thank you to both reporters for practicing responsible disclosure.

In addition to the security issues above, WordPress 4.4.2 fixes 17 bugs from 4.4 and 4.4.1. For more information, see the release notes or consult the list of changes.

Download WordPress 4.4.2 or venture over to Dashboard → Updates and simply click “Update Now.” Sites that support automatic background updates are already beginning to update to WordPress 4.4.2.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to 4.4.2:

Andrea Ferciaberengerzyla, Boone Gorges, Chandra Patel, Chris Christoff, Dion Hulse, Dominik Schilling, firebird75, Ivan Kristianto, Jennifer M. Dodd, salvoaranzulla

WordPress 4.4.1 Security and Maintenance Release

WordPress 4.4.1 is now available. This is a security release for all previous versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately.

WordPress versions 4.4 and earlier are affected by a cross-site scripting vulnerability that could allow a site to be compromised. This was reported by Crtc4L.

There were also several non-security bug fixes:

  • Emoji support has been updated to include all of the latest emoji characters, including the new diverse emoji! 👍🏿👌🏽👏🏼
  • Some sites with older versions of OpenSSL installed were unable to communicate with other services provided through some plugins.
  • If a post URL was ever re-used, the site could redirect to the wrong post.

WordPress 4.4.1 fixes 52 bugs from 4.4. For more information, see the release notes or consult the list of changes.

Download WordPress 4.4.1 or venture over to Dashboard → Updates and simply click “Update Now.” Sites that support automatic background updates are already beginning to update to WordPress 4.4.1.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to 4.4.1:

Aaron D. Campbell, Aaron Jorbin, Andrea Fercia, Andrew Nacin, Andrew Ozz, Boone Gorges, Compute, Daniel Jalkut (Red Sweater), Danny van Kooten, Dion Hulse, Dominik Schilling (ocean90), Dossy Shiobara, Evan Herman, Gary Pendergast, gblsm, Hinaloe, Ignacio Cruz Moreno, jadpm, Jeff Pye Brook, Joe McGill, John Blackbourn, jpr, Konstantin Obenland, KrissieV, Marin Atanasov, Matthew Ell, Meitar, Pascal Birchler, Peter Wilson, Roger Chen, Ryan McCue, Sal Ferrarello, Scott Taylor, scottbrownconsulting, Sergey Biryukov, Shinichi Nishikawa, smerriman, Stephen Edgar, Stephen Harris, tharsheblows, voldemortensen, and webaware.

WordPress 4.3.1 Security and Maintenance Release

WordPress 4.3.1 is now available. This is a security release for all previous versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately.

This release addresses three issues, including two cross-site scripting vulnerabilities and a potential privilege escalation.

  • WordPress versions 4.3 and earlier are vulnerable to a cross-site scripting vulnerability when processing shortcode tags (CVE-2015-5714). Reported by Shahar Tal and Netanel Rubin of Check Point.
  • A separate cross-site scripting vulnerability was found in the user list table. Reported by Ben Bidner of the WordPress security team.
  • Finally, in certain cases, users without proper permissions could publish private posts and make them sticky (CVE-2015-5715). Reported by Shahar Tal and Netanel Rubin of Check Point.

Our thanks to those who have practiced responsible disclosure of security issues.

WordPress 4.3.1 also fixes twenty-six bugs. For more information, see the release notes or consult the list of changes.

Download WordPress 4.3.1 or venture over to Dashboard → Updates and simply click “Update Now.” Sites that support automatic background updates are already beginning to update to WordPress 4.3.1.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to 4.3.1:

Adam Silverstein, Andrea FerciaAndrew Ozz, Boone Gorges, Brandon Kraft, chriscct7, Daisuke Takahashi, Dion Hulse, Dominik Schilling, Drew Jaynes, dustinbolton, Gary Pendergast, hauvong, James Huff, Jeremy Felt, jobst, Marin Atanasov, Nick Halsey, nikeo, Nikolay Bachiyski, Pascal Birchler, Paul Ryan, Peter Wilson, Robert Chapin, Samuel Wood, Scott Taylor, Sergey Biryukov, tmatsuur, Tracy Levesque, Umesh Nevase, vortfu, welcher, Weston Ruter

WordPress 4.2.4 Security and Maintenance Release

WordPress 4.2.4 is now available. This is a security release for all previous versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately.

This release addresses six issues, including three cross-site scripting vulnerabilities and a potential SQL injection that could be used to compromise a site, which were discovered by Marc-Alexandre Montpas of Sucuri, Helen Hou-Sandí of the WordPress security team, Netanel Rubin of Check Point, and Ivan Grigorov. It also includes a fix for a potential timing side-channel attack, discovered by Johannes Schmitt of Scrutinizer, and prevents an attacker from locking a post from being edited, discovered by Mohamed A. Baset.

Our thanks to those who have practiced responsible disclosure of security issues.

WordPress 4.2.4 also fixes four bugs. For more information, see the release notes or consult the list of changes.

Download WordPress 4.2.4 or venture over to Dashboard → Updates and simply click “Update Now.” Sites that support automatic background updates are already beginning to update to WordPress 4.2.4.

Already testing WordPress 4.3? The second release candidate is now available (zip) and it contains these fixes. For more on 4.3, see the RC 1 announcement post.