WordPressCMS
CVE-2007-3543
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedUnrestricted file upload vulnerability in WordPress before 2.2.1 and WordPress MU before 1.2.3 allows remote authenticated users to upload and execute arbitrary PHP code by making a post that specifies a .php filename in the _wp_attached_file metadata field; and then sending this file's content, along with its post_ID value, to (1) wp-app.php or (2) app.php.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceWordPress and WordPress MU before versions 2.2.1 and 1.2.3 respectively contain an unrestricted file upload vulnerability. Authenticated users can upload and execute arbitrary PHP code by posting a .php filename in the _wp_attached_file metadata field, then sending the file content with its post_ID to wp-app.php or app.php.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
WordPressCMS
<= 2.2.0
Wordpress MuApplication
<= 1.2.2CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify WordPress versionCheck the version.php file in the wp-includes directory, or look at the meta tag in the HTML source of any WordPress admin page, or query the database for the option_name 'version' in the wp_options tableAffected if The installed version is WordPress 2.2.0 or earlier, or WordPress MU 1.2.2 or earlier
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Locate wp-app.php fileCheck if wp-app.php exists in the WordPress root directory by looking for the file directly via file system access or HTTP request to /wp-app.phpAffected if The wp-app.php file exists and is accessible via HTTP, which enables the Atom Publishing Protocol attack vector
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Locate app.php fileCheck if app.php exists in the WordPress root directory or wp-app.php directory, as some installations may use this alternative filenameAffected if The app.php file exists and is accessible via HTTP as an alternative entry point
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Verify XML-RPC interface statusCheck if the XML-RPC interface is enabled by looking for the xmlrpc.php file and testing connectivity, or checking the 'enable_xmlrpc' option in wp_options table if present in that versionAffected if The XML-RPC or Atom publishing interface is enabled, which is required for authenticated users to send the crafted requests to wp-app.php
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Confirm authenticated user accessReview user role permissions in wp_users and wp_usermeta tables, or check if any user role other than Subscriber exists, as authenticated access is required for this attackAffected if The site allows authenticated users (any user with an account) to access the wp-app.php or XML-RPC interface
A user is affected if they run WordPress 2.2.0 or earlier (or WP MU 1.2.2 or earlier) AND have wp-app.php or app.php accessible on the server with authenticated user access enabled.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade to WordPress 2.2.1+ or WordPress MU 1.2.3+ to patch the vulnerability. As a temporary measure, disable or restrict access to wp-app.php and app.php until the upgrade can be performed.
Fix this in WordPress
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2007-3543 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2007-3543 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data