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WordPressCMS

CVE-2020-4046

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-06-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.7.34 / 3.8.34 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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
In affected versions of WordPress, users with low privileges (like contributors and authors) can use the embed block in a certain way to inject unfiltered HTML in the block editor. When affected posts are viewed by a higher privileged user, this could lead to script execution in the editor/wp-admin. This has been patched in version 5.4.2, along with all the previously affected versions via a minor release (5.3.4, 5.2.7, 5.1.6, 5.0.10, 4.9.15, 4.8.14, 4.7.18, 4.6.19, 4.5.22, 4.4.23, 4.3.24, 4.2.28, 4.1.31, 4.0.31, 3.9.32, 3.8.34, 3.7.34).

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

This is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in WordPress's embed block. Users with low privileges (contributors or authors) can inject unfiltered HTML through the embed block. When higher-privileged users (like administrators) view these posts in the WordPress editor or admin panel, the injected malicious scripts execute, leading to potential session hijacking or admin action execution.

MitigationUpgrade WordPress to the patched version (5.4.2) or the appropriate minor release for older branches (5.3.4, 5.2.7, etc.). All affected installations should be updated immediately as exploitation requires only low-privilege user access.

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
Affected:>= 3.7, < 3.7.34>= 3.8, < 3.8.34>= 3.9, < 3.9.32>= 4.0, < 4.0.31>= 4.1, < 4.1.31>= 4.2, < 4.2.28>= 4.3, < 4.3.24>= 4.4, < 4.4.23>= 4.5, < 4.5.22>= 4.6, < 4.6.19>= 4.7, < 4.7.18>= 4.8, < 4.8.14
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 9.0
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 31= 32

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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 checks

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

  1. Check installed WordPress version
    Log into the WordPress admin dashboard and navigate to Dashboard > At a Glance, or read the version from wp-includes/version.php, or run 'wp core version' via WP-CLI if available
    Affected if The version falls within any of these ranges: 3.7 to 3.7.33, 3.8 to 3.8.33, 3.9 to 3.9.31, 4.0 to 4.0.30, 4.1 to 4.1.30, 4.2 to 4.2.27, 4.3 to 4.3.23, 4.4 to 4.4.22, 4.5 to 4.5.21, 4.6 to 4.6.18, 4.7 to 4.7.17, or 4.8 to 4.8.13
  2. Check WordPress package version on Debian or Fedora
    Run 'dpkg -l | grep wordpress' on Debian, or 'rpm -qa | grep wordpress' on Fedora, to see the installed package version
    Affected if The package version corresponds to an affected WordPress version range listed above
  3. Identify posts using embed blocks
    Search the WordPress database for posts containing embed-related patterns (such as oEmbed URLs or wp-embed shortcodes), or manually review recent posts created by contributors or authors for embed block usage
    Affected if Embed blocks are present in any published content, particularly content authored by users with contributor or author roles
  4. Audit user accounts with contributor or author roles
    Navigate to Users > All Users in the WordPress admin panel, or query the wp_users and wp_usermeta tables, to list accounts with contributor or author capabilities
    Affected if Low-privilege users with contributor or author roles exist and have permission to create or edit posts containing embed blocks

You are affected if your WordPress installation version falls within the affected ranges AND you have users with contributor/author roles creating content with embed blocks visible to administrators.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.7.34 / 3.8.34 / 3.9.32 or later
Fixed in 3.7.343.8.343.9.32
Interim mitigation

Upgrade WordPress to the patched version (5.4.2) or the appropriate minor release for older branches (5.3.4, 5.2.7, etc.). All affected installations should be updated immediately as exploitation requires only low-privilege user access.

Fix this in WordPress 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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

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-2020-4046 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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