The latest WordPress update is not only for WordPress 5.0 which was released a week ago, but it is also for all WordPress versions since 3.7 (4.9.9, 4.8.8, 4.7.12, 4.6.13, 4.5.16, 4.4.17, 4.3.18, 4.2.22, 4.1.25, 4.0.25, 3.9.26, 3.8.28, 3.7.28). This update contains 7 security fixes for vulnerabilities which allow a hacker to delete files and manipulate posts and threaten user privacy. It is recommended to install this update as soon as possible to protect yourself against possible attacks. If you do not use auto-update, you have to update manually.
The vulnerabilities:
- Authors could alter meta data to delete files that they weren’t authorized to.
- Authors could create posts of unauthorized post types with specially crafted input.
- Contributors could craft meta data in a way that resulted in PHP object injection.
- Also they could edit new comments from higher-privileged users, potentially leading to a cross-site scripting vulnerability.
- Specially crafted URL inputs could lead to a cross-site scripting vulnerability in some circumstances. WordPress itself was not affected, but plugins could be in some situations.
- The user activation screen could be indexed by search engines in some uncommon configurations, leading to exposure of email addresses, and in some rare cases, default generated passwords.
- Authors on Apache-hosted sites could upload specifically crafted files that bypass MIME verification, leading to a cross-site scripting vulnerability.
Remember to create backups before installing updates!
(Image by monsitj)
