WordPressCMS
CVE-2018-20147
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 · uneditedIn WordPress before 4.9.9 and 5.x before 5.0.1, authors could modify metadata to bypass intended restrictions on deleting files.
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 before 4.9.9 and 5.x before 5.0.1 contained a broken access control vulnerability where users with the Author role could manipulate file metadata to bypass intended restrictions, allowing unauthorized deletion of files they should not have permission to delete.
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
< 4.9.9>= 5.0, < 5.0.1
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 8.0= 9.0CVSS 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:3.0/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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Identify installed WordPress versionAccess your WordPress admin dashboard and navigate to Dashboard > Updates, or check the version in the readme.html file in the WordPress root directory, or query the wp_options database table for the 'db_version' or 'version' option.Affected if The version is less than 4.9.9, or greater than or equal to 5.0.0 but less than 5.0.1
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Confirm presence of Author role usersLog in to WordPress admin and go to Users > All Users to list accounts with the Author role, or query the wp_usermeta table filtering for wp_capabilities meta_value containing 'a:1:{s:6:"author"'Affected if There are one or more users assigned the Author role on the site
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Verify file deletion capability existsCheck if the media library or attachment handling functionality is accessible to Author role users by examining the wp_capabilities for this role in the wp_options table under the wp_user_roles option, or by logging in as an Author user and attempting to access the Media library.Affected if The Author role retains delete or delete_posts capabilities, allowing access to the vulnerable file deletion functionality
You are affected if your WordPress version is below 4.9.9 or between 5.0.0 and 5.0.1 inclusive, AND you have users with Author role who can access the file deletion 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.
From vendor data4.9.95.0.1
Update WordPress to version 4.9.9 or 5.0.1 or later to patch the access control bypass in file deletion functionality.
Fix this in WordPress
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $3,040.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-20147 — 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-2018-20147 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