WordPress through 6.1.1 depends on unpredictable client visits to cause wp-cron.php execution and the resulting security updates, and the source code describes the scenario where a site may not receive enough visits to execute scheduled tasks in a timely manner, but neither the installation guide nor the security guide mentions this default behavior, or alerts the user about security risks on installations with very few visits.
Affected Software
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wordpress | Wordpress | * | 6.1.1 (including) |
| Wordpress | Ubuntu | bionic | * |
| Wordpress | Ubuntu | focal | * |
| Wordpress | Ubuntu | kinetic | * |
| Wordpress | Ubuntu | lunar | * |
| Wordpress | Ubuntu | mantic | * |
| Wordpress | Ubuntu | oracular | * |
| Wordpress | Ubuntu | plucky | * |
| Wordpress | Ubuntu | trusty | * |
| Wordpress | Ubuntu | xenial | * |
References
- https://developer.wordpress.org/plugins/cron/
- https://github.com/WordPress/WordPress/blob/dca7b5204b5fea54e6d1774689777b359a9222ab/wp-cron.php#L5-L8
- https://medium.com/%40thecpanelguy/the-nightmare-that-is-wpcron-php-ae31c1d3ae30
- https://patchstack.com/articles/solving-unpredictable-wp-cron-problems-addressing-cve-2023-22622/
- https://wordpress.org/about/security/
- https://wordpress.org/support/article/how-to-install-wordpress/
- https://www.tenable.com/plugins/was/113449
- https://developer.wordpress.org/plugins/cron/
- https://github.com/WordPress/WordPress/blob/dca7b5204b5fea54e6d1774689777b359a9222ab/wp-cron.php#L5-L8
- https://medium.com/%40thecpanelguy/the-nightmare-that-is-wpcron-php-ae31c1d3ae30
- https://patchstack.com/articles/solving-unpredictable-wp-cron-problems-addressing-cve-2023-22622/
- https://wordpress.org/about/security/
- https://wordpress.org/support/article/how-to-install-wordpress/
- https://www.tenable.com/plugins/was/113449