WordPressCMS
CVE-2011-1762
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 · uneditedA flaw exists in Wordpress related to the 'wp-admin/press-this.php 'script improperly checking user permissions when publishing posts. This may allow a user with 'Contributor-level' privileges to post as if they had 'publish_posts' permission.
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 press-this.php improperly validates user permissions during post publishing, allowing Contributor-level users to bypass the publish_posts permission check and directly publish posts they should only be able to submit for review.
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
< 3.0.6>= 3.1, < 3.1.2CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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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Check WordPress versionOpen wp-includes/version.php and find the $wp_version variable, or view the WordPress admin dashboard footerAffected if The installed version is less than 3.0.6, or is 3.1, 3.1.0, or 3.1.1 (versions 3.1 through 3.1.1 inclusive)
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Verify press-this.php existsCheck if wp-admin/press-this.php file is present on the serverAffected if The file exists (this is the vulnerable component)
A user is affected if their WordPress version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND they have Contributor-level users with access to the press-this functionality.
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.
dbcve · scoped3.0.63.1.2
Apply the WordPress security update (3.1.2 or later) that patches the permission check flaw in press-this.php, or use a user role management plugin to restrict the Press This capability from Contributor roles.
WordPress 3.0.6 or WordPress 3.1.2 (depending on your current branch)
- 1. Back up your WordPress database and files before proceeding
- 2. Ensure you have a recent backup of your wp-content folder (themes, plugins, uploads)
- 3. Download WordPress 3.0.6 (if currently on 3.0.x branch) or WordPress 3.1.2 (if currently on 3.1.x branch) from wordpress.org/download/
- 4. Deactivate all plugins temporarily (optional but recommended for safety)
- 5. Upload the new WordPress files, overwriting the existing installation
- 6. Run the WordPress database upgrade if prompted (usually automatic)
- 7. Log in to wp-admin and verify the upgrade was successful
- 8. Reactivate plugins one by one and test functionality
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in WordPress
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-1762 — 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-2011-1762 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