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CVE-2020-28035· NVD / CVE Program· CNA mitre

WordPress before 5.5.2 allows attackers to gain privileges via XML-RPC.

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Plan (action score 40/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 4.2% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 91% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: wordpress (Debian:10) 5.0.11+dfsg1-0+deb10u1; wordpress (Debian:12) 5.5.3+dfsg1-1; wordpress (Debian:9) 4.7.19+dfsg-1+deb9u1.
  • Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).

Add it to your regular patch cycle. Upgrade to wordpress (Debian:10) 5.0.11+dfsg1-0+deb10u1; wordpress (Debian:12) 5.5.3+dfsg1-1; wordpress (Debian:9) 4.7.19+dfsg-1+deb9u1 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

CriticalCVSS 9.8 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Nov 2, 2020
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
4.2% · 91th percentile
CWE
—

Report tools

JSON

Action score

40

Plan

Add it to your regular patch cycle.

CVSS
39 / 40 · 9.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 4.2%

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Is WordPress on your site?

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
wordpresswordpress
fedoraprojectfedora
debiandebian linux

Using wordpress? Add it to your stack and be the first to know about CVEs like this one. (WordPress)

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When you'll hear from us

  • when a new CVE affecting this product is published
  • when a record in your stack enters KEV or gets exploit code

One daily email digest (06:00 UTC); connect a webhook for KEV listings and weaponized exploits instantly.

Your free account also gets you

Running WordPress? Scan your site free with WP Lens

  • Stack alerts: add the products and versions you run, get the new CVEs that affect them
  • Uptime monitoring: 1 site, instant email when it goes down
  • Add your domain: subdomains and takeover risk scanned every week (1 domain)
  • 10 scans an hour on the security tools (3 a day without an account), an API key and MCP
  • All your scans in one panel: findings, what changed in the last scan, a report per domain or per client (PDF, share link)
All free tools

Sign up with email · Have an account? Sign in

Free account, no card. Unfollow any time.

Don't want an account? Get "Exploited this week" by email every Monday

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • wordpress wordpressbefore 5.5.2

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:10wordpressbefore 5.0.11+dfsg1-0+deb10u15.0.11+dfsg1-0+deb10u1
Debian:12wordpressbefore 5.5.3+dfsg1-15.5.3+dfsg1-1
Debian:9wordpressbefore 4.7.19+dfsg-1+deb9u14.7.19+dfsg-1+deb9u1

Same product

wordpress: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-87902An unauthenticated attacker can make `get_page_template()` page-template resolution include a chosen readable local `.php` file outside the KEV
    74This week
  • CVE-2026-63030WordPress < 7.0.2 - REST API batch-route confusion and SQL injection issue leading to Remote Code ExecutionKEV
    72This week
  • CVE-2026-60137WordPress < 7.0.2 - Facilitated SQL Injection via author__not_in in WP_QueryKEV
    60This week

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2020-28033Nov 2, 2020 · WordPress before 5.5.2 mishandles embeds from disabled sites on a multisite network, as demonstrated by allowing a spam embed.
    31Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2020-28034Nov 2, 2020 · WordPress before 5.5.2 allows XSS associated with global variables.
    25Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2020-28036Nov 2, 2020 · wp-includes/class-wp-xmlrpc-server.php in WordPress before 5.5.2 allows attackers to gain privileges by using XML-RPC to comment on a post.
    41Plan

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
debian:wordpress5.5.3+dfsg1-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.

National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)

Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.

All national notices →

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

—

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (5 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records