CVE-2017-5476
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 · uneditedSerendipity through 2.0.5 allows CSRF for the installation of an event plugin or a sidebar plugin.
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 confidenceCross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Serendipity through version 2.0.5 allows remote attackers to trick authenticated administrators into installing malicious event plugins or sidebar plugins by forging requests from a malicious site while the admin is logged in.
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<= 2.0.5CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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.
-
Confirm Serendipity installationLook for the Serendipity application by checking for the /serendipity/ directory or typical Serendipity files such as serendipity_config_local.inc.php, or access the admin login page and verify it presents a Serendipity login formAffected if The application is Serendipity (S9y)
-
Determine installed versionLocate the version file (typically VERSION file in the root directory) or check the Serendipity admin dashboard footer which displays the version numberAffected if The installed version is 2.0.5 or any version lower than 2.0.5
-
Verify admin authentication requirementConfirm that the plugin installation feature requires an authenticated administrator session - check if the /serendipity/serendipity_admin.php plugin installer is accessible only to logged-in administratorsAffected if The plugin installation page is accessible to authenticated administrators without CSRF token validation
-
Check plugin installation form for CSRF protectionAccess the plugin installation page (serendipity_admin.php?serendipity[adminModule]=plugins) while logged in as administrator and inspect the HTML form for the presence of a CSRF token field (such as a hidden input with a token or security token parameter)Affected if The plugin installation form lacks a CSRF token or security token field
You are affected if Serendipity is installed and the installed version is 2.0.5 or lower, and the plugin installation form does not contain CSRF protection tokens.
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 a version beyond 2.0.5 that includes CSRF protection tokens on plugin installation forms. As a temporary measure, administrators should avoid browsing untrusted sites while logged into the Serendipity admin panel.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-5476 — 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-2017-5476 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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