CVE-2021-20779
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 · uneditedCross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in WordPress Email Template Designer - WP HTML Mail versions prior to 3.0.8 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators 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 · moderate confidenceCross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the WordPress Email Template Designer - WP HTML Mail plugin allows remote attackers to forge requests on behalf of authenticated administrators, potentially hijacking their session to modify email template settings.
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< 3.0.8CVSS 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:3.1/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.
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Verify WP HTML Mail plugin is installedLog into WordPress admin panel, navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins, and search for 'WP HTML Mail' or 'Email Template Designer' by CodemiqAffected if The plugin is listed as installed and active in the WordPress plugins directory
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Determine the installed plugin versionIn the Plugins list, locate WP HTML Mail and view the version number displayed below the plugin name, or check the plugin's main PHP file header for the Version fieldAffected if The displayed version number is lower than 3.0.8 (e.g., 3.0.7, 3.0.6, etc.)
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Inspect plugin code for CSRF token protectionExamine the plugin's admin form handlers (typically in files like class-*.php or admin/*.php) for presence of nonce verification using wp_verify_nonce or check_ajax_referer when processing email template settingsAffected if No nonce or token verification is found in form processing code for email template modifications, indicating missing CSRF safeguards
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Check for Origin/Referer header validationReview the plugin's form submission handlers to verify if HTTP Origin or Referer headers are validated before processing admin actionsAffected if No header-based validation is implemented in the plugin's request handling logic
The environment is affected if the WP HTML Mail plugin version is below 3.0.8 and the plugin code lacks anti-CSRF token (nonce) verification for email template modification forms.
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.
dbcve · scoped3.0.8
Upgrade to WP HTML Mail version 3.0.8 or later which includes anti-CSRF token protection. If immediate patching is not possible, implement additional validation such as checking Origin/Referer headers and implementing a robust CSRF token mechanism.
3.0.8
- 1. Back up your WordPress site and database before making any changes
- 2. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard
- 3. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- 4. Find 'WordPress Email Template Designer' (WP HTML Mail) in the plugin list
- 5. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to update to version 3.0.8 or later
- 6. Alternatively, navigate to Dashboard > Updates to check for and apply available updates
- 7. Verify the plugin version after update to confirm version 3.0.8 or higher is installed
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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 $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-20779 — 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-2021-20779 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