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Bbpress Move TopicsWordPress extension · Bbpress Move Topics Project

CVE-2018-21005

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-08-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.1.6 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
The bbp-move-topics plugin before 1.1.6 for WordPress has code injection.

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 · low confidence

The bbp-move-topics WordPress plugin before version 1.1.6 contains a code injection vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious PHP code, likely through unsanitized user input in AJAX calls or form submissions, potentially achieving remote code execution on the WordPress site.

MitigationUpdate bbp-move-topics plugin to version 1.1.6 or later immediately. If the plugin is unnecessary, remove it entirely. Conduct a security audit to check for indicators of compromise given the critical severity.

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
Bbpress Move TopicsWordPress extension
Affected:< 1.1.6

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. Locate the bbp-move-topics plugin
    Check your WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for a folder named 'bbp-move-topics' or 'bbp-move-topics-pro', or look for the plugin in the WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins
    Affected if The plugin folder exists in the plugins directory regardless of whether it is active
  2. Determine the installed version
    Open the main plugin PHP file (usually bbp-move-topics.php) and look for the version comment or Version header in the file header, or check the plugin details in WordPress admin Plugins page
    Affected if The version displayed is below 1.1.6 (e.g., 1.1.5, 1.0.x, etc.) or no version number is found indicating an old release
  3. Verify the plugin is active
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and check if bbp-move-topics is activated
    Affected if The plugin shows as 'Active' - only active plugins can be exploited
  4. Check for unauthorized code or modifications
    Review the main plugin file for suspicious PHP functions like eval(), base64_decode(), shell_exec(), system(), or unexpected obfuscated code sections
    Affected if Any of these functions or suspicious code patterns are present in the plugin files without being part of legitimate functionality
  5. Audit web server access logs for plugin-related requests
    Search server logs (access.log) for POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or form submissions containing 'bbp-move-topics' or plugin action parameters, especially with unusual payload patterns
    Affected if Suspicious requests are found containing code-like strings (e.g., $_GET, $_POST, eval) in parameters related to this plugin

You are affected if the bbp-move-topics plugin is installed with a version prior to 1.1.6 and is currently active on your WordPress site.

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 1.1.6 or later
Fixed in 1.1.6
Interim mitigation

Update bbp-move-topics plugin to version 1.1.6 or later immediately. If the plugin is unnecessary, remove it entirely. Conduct a security audit to check for indicators of compromise given the critical severity.

Recommended fix High confidence

1.1.6

  1. 1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. 3. Locate the 'Bbpress Move Topics' plugin in the list
  4. 4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to upgrade to version 1.1.6
  5. 5. Alternatively, navigate to Plugins > Add New > Upload to manually upload the version 1.1.6 plugin file
  6. 6. After updating, verify the plugin version is 1.1.6 or later in the Plugins list
  7. 7. Test the plugin functionality to ensure it works correctly after the upgrade

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

Fix this in Bbpress Move Topics Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2018-21005 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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