WordPress Core < 4.2.4 — Timing Side-Channel Attack
CVE-2015-5730Published · Updated Action summary
Affected: ≤4.2.3Update to 3.7.10 or 3.8.10 or 3.9.8 or 4.0.7 or 4.1.7 or 4.2.4 or newer
Fixed versions are per release branch: update to the fix for the branch you run.
All remediation steps- Severity
- Medium5.3
- CVSS
- 5.3CVSS 3.1 · CNA (Wordfence)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:NWhat does this vector mean?
AV:NAttack vector- Network
AC:LAttack complexity- Low
PR:NPrivileges required- None
UI:NUser interaction- None
S:UScope- Unchanged
C:LConfidentiality- Low
I:NIntegrity- None
A:NAvailability- None
- Required access
- No account needed
- Exploit prediction (EPSS)
- No score
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
On this page7
Am I affected?
WordPress wordpress
- Affected≤ 4.2.3
- Patched in3.7.10 / 3.8.10 / 3.9.8 / 4.0.7 / 4.1.7 / 4.2.4
Update to 3.7.10 / 3.8.10 / 3.9.8 / 4.0.7 / 4.1.7 / 4.2.4 or newer.
You are affected if you run ≤ 4.2.3. Version 3.7.10, 3.8.10, 3.9.8, 4.0.7, 4.1.7, 4.2.4 and later are not affected by this issue.
- Check your version: in wp-admin go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and read the version under WordPress.
- No admin access? Run a passive check of your site. It reads public files only.
- No account is needed to exploit this. Treat any exposed site on an affected version as at risk.
What to do
- Update to one of the following versions, or a newer patched version: 3.7.10, 3.8.10, 3.9.8, 4.0.7, 4.1.7, 4.2.4
- Rotate administrator passwords and application secrets if the site ran a vulnerable version while publicly reachable.
- Watch WordPress to get an email when the next vulnerability is published.
Advisory
Source description from Wordfence Intelligence, credited to Johannes Schmitt.
The sanitize_widget_instance function in wp-includes/class-wp-customize-widgets.php in WordPress before 4.2.4 does not use a constant-time comparison for widgets, which allows remote attackers to conduct a timing side-channel attack by measuring the delay before inequality is calculated.
Exploits & references
Proof-of-concept & detection
No public proof-of-concept or detection template is known for this vulnerability.
Advisories & patches
- Advisorywordfence.com
Timeline
CVE published
Severity medium, CVSS 5.3
Record last updated
Sources & licenses
Wordfence record- Vulnerability data
- Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. Licensed under the CC BY-SA 4.0.
- CVE® identifiers
- Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. Used under the CVE Program. CVE® is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation.
- CVSS / CWE
- National Vulnerability Database (NVD), shown unmodified. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- VulnCrest content
- Summary, remediation guidance and page layout © VulnCrest. Not sourced from NVD.