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Movable TypeApplication · Sixapart

CVE-2016-5742

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-01-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.2.13 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
SQL injection vulnerability in the XML-RPC interface in Movable Type Pro and Advanced 6.x before 6.1.3 and 6.2.x before 6.2.6 and Movable Type Open Source 5.2.13 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via unspecified vectors.

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 confidence

SQL injection vulnerability in the XML-RPC interface of Movable Type allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via unspecified vectors in the interface. The vulnerability affects both commercial (Pro/Advanced) and open-source versions prior to the patched releases.

MitigationApply vendor patches: upgrade to Movable Type Pro/Advanced 6.1.3+/6.2.6+ or the patched Open Source version. If immediate patching is not feasible, disable or restrict network access to the XML-RPC interface.

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
Movable TypeApplication
Affected:= 6.0= 6.0.1= 6.0.2= 6.0.3= 6.0.4= 6.0.5= 6.0.6= 6.0.7= 6.0.8= 6.1.0= 6.1.1= 6.1.2
Movable Type Open SourceApplication
Affected:<= 5.2.13

CVSS 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:3.0/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Movable Type installation version
    Locate the Movable Type installation directory and find the version identifier. This is typically displayed in the admin dashboard, or stored in a VERSION file, mt-config.cgi, or similar configuration files within the installation. Check the Sixapart Movable Type Pro/Advanced or Open Source installation folders.
    Affected if The installed version matches 6.0.x (any from 6.0 through 6.0.8), 6.1.x (any from 6.1.0 through 6.1.2), or Movable Type Open Source version 5.2.13 or lower.
  2. Confirm XML-RPC interface is enabled
    Inspect the Movable Type configuration file (commonly mt-config.cgi or mt-config.pm) for XML-RPC related settings. Look for directives such as 'XMLRPCEnabled' or 'EnableXMLRPC' set to a value that permits access.
    Affected if The XML-RPC interface is explicitly enabled or permitted in the configuration.
  3. Verify XML-RPC endpoint is accessible
    Test network access to the XML-RPC endpoint. The typical endpoint path is /mt-xmlrpc.cgi or /cgi-bin/mt/mt-xmlrpc.cgi. Attempt an HTTP request to this endpoint to confirm it responds.
    Affected if The XML-RPC endpoint responds to HTTP requests and is reachable from the network.

A user is affected if their Movable Type installation version is 6.0.x, 6.1.0-6.1.2, or Open Source <= 5.2.13 AND the XML-RPC interface is enabled and accessible.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 5.2.13
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches: upgrade to Movable Type Pro/Advanced 6.1.3+/6.2.6+ or the patched Open Source version. If immediate patching is not feasible, disable or restrict network access to the XML-RPC interface.

Recommended fix High confidence

Movable Type Pro/Advanced 6.x: upgrade to 6.1.3+ or 6.2.6+; Movable Type Open Source: upgrade to latest version above 5.2.13

  1. 1. Identify the current Movable Type version by checking the mt-version file or admin dashboard.
  2. 2. If running Movable Type Pro/Advanced 6.0.x through 6.0.3, upgrade to version 6.1.3 or later (or 6.2.6 or later).
  3. 3. If running Movable Type Pro/Advanced 6.2.x through 6.2.5, upgrade to version 6.2.6 or later.
  4. 4. If running Movable Type Open Source 5.2.x through 5.2.13, upgrade to the latest version beyond 5.2.13.
  5. 5. Download the upgrade from the official Movable Type website (movabletype.org).
  6. 6. Back up the Movable Type database and all files before performing the upgrade.
  7. 7. Follow the standard Movable Type upgrade documentation to install the new version.
  8. 8. After upgrade, verify the XML-RPC interface is functioning correctly and test for the vulnerability if possible.
Caveat Minor: Review upgrade notes for changes in templates, plugins, and themes between versions; test thoroughly in staging first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Movable Type Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-5742 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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