Limit Login AttemptsWordPress extension · Limit Login Attempts Project
CVE-2012-10001
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 · uneditedThe Limit Login Attempts plugin before 1.7.1 for WordPress does not clear auth cookies upon a lockout, which might make it easier for remote attackers to conduct brute-force authentication attempts.
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 confidenceThe Limit Login Attempts WordPress plugin before version 1.7.1 fails to clear existing authentication cookies when a lockout is triggered, allowing previously authenticated sessions to remain valid even after the account or IP is locked out. This undermines the plugin's brute-force protection by enabling continued access during a lockout period.
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
Limit Login AttemptsWordPress extension
< 1.7.1CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 Limit Login Attempts plugin versionIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and find Limit Login Attempts in the list. Read the version number displayed beneath the plugin name. Alternatively, access the wp-content/plugins/limit-login-attempts/ directory via FTP or file manager and open the main plugin PHP file to find the Version header in the file comments.Affected if The installed version is lower than 1.7.1
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Confirm lockout feature is activeNavigate to Settings > Limit Login Attempts in the WordPress admin panel. Verify that lockout functionality is configured and enabled - look for settings such as maximum allowed retries, lockout duration, or IP/user lockout options that determine when the plugin blocks access after failed login attempts.Affected if Lockout is enabled and configured to trigger after failed login attempts
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Test session behavior during lockoutUsing two different browsers or browser profiles: 1) Log into WordPress normally in browser A to establish a valid session cookie. 2) In browser B, trigger a lockout by exceeding the configured failed login limit (or wait for another user to trigger it). 3) In browser A with the original session, attempt to access the site - observe whether the authenticated session remains valid despite the lockout being active.Affected if Previously authenticated sessions remain valid and can access the site even after the account or IP has been locked out
You are affected if the installed Limit Login Attempts plugin version is below 1.7.1 and lockout functionality is enabled, allowing existing authenticated cookies to remain valid after a lockout is triggered.
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 · scoped1.7.1
Upgrade the Limit Login Attempts plugin to version 1.7.1 or later to ensure auth cookies are properly cleared upon lockout.
1.7.1
- Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
- Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- Find 'Limit Login Attempts' in the plugin list
- If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to install version 1.7.1 or later
- Alternatively, download the latest version from wordpress.org and upload it via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
- After updating, verify the plugin version is 1.7.1 or higher in the Plugins list
- Test that login attempts are properly tracked and lockouts function correctly
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Limit Login Attempts
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-2012-10001 — 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-2012-10001 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