The cookie authentication method in WordPress 2.5 relies on a hash of a concatenated string containing USERNAME and EXPIRY_TIME, which allows remote attackers to forge cookies by registering a username that results in the same concatenated string, as demonstrated by registering usernames beginning with "admin" to obtain administrator privileges, aka a "cryptographic splicing" issue
Published Apr 28, 2008
7.5
HIGHCVSS 2.0
EPSS 5.04%
Description
The cookie authentication method in WordPress 2.5 relies on a hash of a concatenated string containing USERNAME and EXPIRY_TIME, which allows remote attackers to forge cookies by registering a username that results in the same concatenated string, as demonstrated by registering usernames beginning with "admin" to obtain administrator privileges, aka a "cryptographic splicing" issue. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2007-6013.
Affected products
Remediation
No remediation recorded yet.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.0 score for this CVE.
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2022–2026- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (15 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 5.04% (0.05042) | 92.03th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 5.00% (0.05001) | 91.09th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jul 30, 2025 | 7.66% (0.07663) | 91.50th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 30, 2025 | 6.18% (0.06181) | 89.90th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 29, 2025 | 4.23% (0.04226) | 80.94th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 24, 2025 | 6.18% (0.06181) | 89.90th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 23, 2025 | 4.40% (0.04401) | 86.92th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 6.18% (0.06181) | 90.14th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 1.40% (0.01398) | 86.96th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| May 3, 2024 | 1.24% (0.01242) | 85.39th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 1.24% (0.01242) | 83.34th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.41% (0.01408) | 72.89th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Mar 2, 2023 | 1.41% (0.01408) | 72.88th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 1.41% (0.01408) | 70.87th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.41% (0.01408) | 49.94th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
References (8)
- http://secunia.com/advisories/29965 third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SECUNIA
- http://wordpress.org/development/2008/04/wordpress-251/ x_refsource_CONFIRMPatch
- http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/sjm217/advisories/wordpress-cookie-integrity.txt x_refsource_MISC
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/491356/100/0/threaded mailing-listx_refsource_BUGTRAQ
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/28935 vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDPatch
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1019923 vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACK
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/1372/references vdb-entryx_refsource_VUPEN
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/42027 vdb-entryx_refsource_XF
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://secunia.com/advisories/29965 | third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SECUNIA | |
| http://wordpress.org/development/2008/04/wordpress-251/ | x_refsource_CONFIRMPatch | |
| http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/sjm217/advisories/wordpress-cookie-integrity.txt | x_refsource_MISC | |
| http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/491356/100/0/threaded | mailing-listx_refsource_BUGTRAQ | |
| http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/28935 | vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDPatch | |
| http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1019923 | vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACK | |
| http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/1372/references | vdb-entryx_refsource_VUPEN | |
| https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/42027 | vdb-entryx_refsource_XF |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.