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Unscored Public exploit CVE-2017-8295 EUVD-2017-17257GHSA-xr65-2gpf-fj8v

WordPress through 4.7.4 relies on the Host HTTP header for a password-reset e-mail message, which makes it easier for remote attackers to r…

Published May 4, 2017 · Updated Aug 5, 2024 · Assigned by mitre

Description

WordPress through 4.7.4 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.

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.

ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian 14 wordpress 4.7.5+dfsg-2 —
Debian 13 wordpress 4.7.5+dfsg-2 —
Debian 12 wordpress 4.7.5+dfsg-2 —
Debian 8 wordpress 4.1+dfsg-1+deb8u14 DSA-3870-1
Debian 7 wordpress 3.6.1+dfsg-1~deb7u15 DLA-975-1
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS wordpress No fix yet —

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

GitHub 3 repositories

Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.

Advisories 2

References