Wordpress Core < 5.5 - Unauthorized Password Reset via Interception

5.9
Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password
CVE CVE-2017-8295
CVSS 5.9 (Medium)
Publicly Published May 3, 2017
Last Updated February 15, 2024
Researcher Dawid Golunski

Description

WordPress up to version 5.5 relies on the Host HTTP header for a password-reset e-mail message, which makes it easier for remote attackers to reset arbitrary passwords by making a crafted wp-login.php?action=lostpassword request and then arranging for this message to bounce or be resent, leading to transmission of the reset key to a mailbox on an attacker-controlled SMTP server. This is related to problematic use of the SERVER_NAME variable in wp-includes/pluggable.php in conjunction with the PHP mail function. Exploitation is not achievable in all cases because it requires at least one of the following: (1) the attacker can prevent the victim from receiving any e-mail messages for an extended period of time (such as 5 days), (2) the victim's e-mail system sends an autoresponse containing the original message, or (3) the victim manually composes a reply containing the original message.

References

Share

1 affected software package

Software Type Core
Patched? Yes
Remediation Update to version 5.5, or a newer patched version
Affected Version
  • < 5.5
Patched Version
  • 5.5

Did you know Wordfence Intelligence provides free personal and commercial API access to our comprehensive WordPress vulnerability database, along with a free webhook integration to stay on top of the latest vulnerabilities added and updated in the database? Get started today!

Learn more

Want to get notified of the latest vulnerabilities that may affect your WordPress site?
Install Wordfence on your site today to get notified immediately if your site is affected by a vulnerability that has been added to our database.

Get Wordfence

The Wordfence Intelligence WordPress vulnerability database is completely free to access and query via API. Please review the documentation on how to access and consume the vulnerability data via API.

Documentation