Description
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the administrator interface in WordPress before 2.8.2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a comment author URL.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | wordpress | 2.8.3-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | wordpress | 2.8.3-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | wordpress | 2.8.3-1 | — |
| Debian 5.0 | wordpress | 2.5.1-11+lenny1 | DSA-1871-1 |
| Debian 4.0 | wordpress | 2.0.10-1etch4 | DSA-1871-2, DSA-1871-1 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.
Exploit-DB 1
- WordPress Core 2.8.1 - 'url' Cross-Site Scripting EDB-9250 · webapps · Jul 24, 2009 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 2
- DSA-1871-2 wordpress - regression fix Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-1871-1 wordpress - several vulnerabilities Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- [oss-security] 20090721 CVE Request -- WordPress mailing-list
- FEDORA-2009-8114 vendor-advisory
- DSA-1871 vendor-advisory
- http://wordpress.org/development/2009/07/wordpress-2-8-2/
- FEDORA-2009-8109 vendor-advisory
- 1022589 vdb-entry
- http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=278492
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=512900