What is the WordPress <= 6.1.1 – Unauth. Blind SSRF vulnerability being reported?
This appears to be a reference to a vulnerability in the WordPress content management system that was present in versions 6.1.1 and earlier. The vulnerability is described as an unauthenticated blind Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability.
This means that an attacker can send a carefully crafted request to a vulnerable WordPress site, causing it to send a request to another server controlled by the attacker, without the knowledge or consent of the administrator of the WordPress site. This vulnerability could potentially be used to gather sensitive information from the server or perform other malicious actions. It is fixed in the wordpress version 6.1.2. It is recommended that users of affected versions of WordPress upgrade to the latest version as soon as possible to protect against this vulnerability.
How do I protect against it?
There are a few steps you can take to protect your WordPress site against an unauthenticated blind SSRF vulnerability:
- Keep your WordPress installation up to date: Make sure you are running the latest version of WordPress, as vulnerabilities such as this are often fixed in newer releases.
- Use a security plugin: WordPress security plugins like Sucuri and Wordfence can help detect and block malicious requests that might exploit this vulnerability.
- Check your site for unauthorized modifications: If your site has been hacked, an attacker may have added malicious code that is exploiting this vulnerability. Use a plugin like Wordfence to check for any unauthorized changes to your site’s files.
- Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF): WAF’s are able to block the malicious requests reaching to your server.
- Configure the server to only allow trusted IP addresses to access it: This limits the pool of attackers that can access the server, It can be done by creating rules on firewall.
- Input validation: sanitize and validate all input data, especially the inputs that being used to make a request, this process will help in preventing malicious inputs.
By following these steps, you can reduce the risk of your site being exploited by this vulnerability, but it is important to remember that there is never a 100% guarantee of security on the internet. Continuously monitor your site and stay informed about new vulnerabilities and patches.
To Note: The WordPress <= 6.1.1 – Unauth. Blind SSRF vulnerability notice has conflicting viewpoints from many in the security industry, some saying that it has been around for years and others saying its worth take note of. Rather safe than sorry we say.
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