WordPress Vulnerability Report – July 19, 2023

Since last week, 80 total vulnerabilities emerged in public disclosure. They may affect over 5 million WordPress sites. There are 55 plugin vulnerabilities with security patches available, so run those updates!

Additionally, there are 23 plugin vulnerabilities and two theme vulnerabilities with no patch available yet. If you discover you are using an unpatched plugin or theme, check their vendors’ intentions and progress on a security release. If no patch is forthcoming or the vulnerable software has been marked “closed” and dropped from the official WordPress theme and plugin repositories, you should consider deactivation and removal in favor of alternative solutions.

Solid Security: The Next Chapter in WordPress Protection

As you know, we’re rebranding publicly, and iThemes is becoming SolidWP. This transition includes new and enhanced features plus a complete interface redesign for our products. In this webinar, our lead developer, Timothy Jacobs, demonstrates the new features coming to Solid Security — formerly known as iThemes Security.

In the video, you’ll get a tour of:

• the improved dashboard
• passkeys and the passwordless login experience
• the all-new firewall
• virtual patches that protect you when you need them most

Nathan Ingram hosted this sneak preview of the all-new Solid Security. He fielded many terrific questions from the live audience for Timothy and Matt Cromwell, our Senior Director of Customer Experience at StellarWP, so check out that discussion in the last 30 minutes.

News From WordPress

WordPress 6.3 RC1 is ready for download and testing. Because this version is under development, do not install, run, or test this version on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, evaluate RC1 on a test server and site.

WordPress core is very secure when it’s properly configured and maintained. Vulnerable plugins that have not been updated by site owners are the most common vector for attacks on WordPress websites. Our weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report, powered by Patchstack, covers new WordPress plugin, theme, and core vulnerabilities that have emerged since last week’s report. Our goal is to spread awareness of emerging security threats and help you decide what to do if you are using vulnerable software on your website. For a deeper analysis of recent trends in WordPress vulnerabilities and threat vectors, see our 2022 Annual Vulnerability Report.

These reports are published every Wednesday and include all active vulnerabilities tracked by Patchstack as of Monday since the previous report. This leaves a 48-hour window for the newest emerging vulnerabilities to be patched before full public disclosure. iThemes Security Pro users have access to vulnerability alerts emerging within this window.

In this section, you’ll find the most recently disclosed WordPress plugin vulnerabilities that have been fixed with a new release from their authors and maintainers. Please apply the updates if you are affected!

These vulnerabilities have been disclosed and scored for their severity, thanks to our friends at Patchstack. Each plugin listing includes the type of vulnerability with its CVE number and CVSS severity rating with links to more technical details. You’ll also see the number of active sites using the plugin and the plugin version release that patches the vulnerability. We start with the most popular plugins, which represent the largest target for attackers.

This section contains plugin vulnerabilities with no known fix. Until a patch is available, you are advised to deactivate the plugin, at minimum, immediately. If there is a high risk of active exploits or the plugin remains unpatched for weeks, you are advised to delete the plugin. You should also delete persistently unpatched plugins the WordPress.org repository has locked and marked “Closed” so they can no longer be downloaded and installed.

In this section, you’ll find the latest WordPress theme vulnerabilities to be disclosed. You’ll see the same information provided above for vulnerable plugins, and the same advice applies. If a security update exists, install it immediately. If a vulnerability remains unpatched in a theme you are actively using, you will need to find an alternative theme. Deactivate and delete persistently unpatched themes and those that have been “Closed” in the WordPress.org theme repository. If you have a vulnerable theme installed that you are not actively using, simply delete it.