Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a critical issue in a long-defunct WordPress anti-bot plugin. If the obsolete is-human plugin remains installed, an unauthenticated attacker could run code on the server, potentially taking over the site or stealing data.
Executive priority
Prioritize immediate investigation where legacy WordPress estates exist. The business risk is full website compromise, but exposure should be narrow unless obsolete plugins were retained through migrations or backups.
Technical view
CVE-2011-10033 is an eval injection flaw in is-human plugin versions up to 1.4.2. The vulnerable path is /is-human/engine.php, where user-controlled input can reach eval() when action is log-reset, enabling remote code execution as the webserver user.
Likely exposure
Likely limited to old WordPress sites that still carry the defunct is-human plugin. The source bundle says the plugin became defunct in June 2008 and is no longer available for download.
Exploitation context
The bundle cites historical in-the-wild exploitation in March 2012 and public exploit references. It does not show current active exploitation or CISA KEV listing, so treat active exploitation status as unconfirmed.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports unauthenticated network RCE through unsafe eval() on user input. Affected-product metadata in the bundle is sparse and inconsistent, so validate exposure by filesystem and WordPress inventory rather than CPE matching alone.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the is-human plugin.
- If present, remove or disable the unsupported plugin after change review.
- Check vendor, CVE, or hosting guidance; no patch is identified in the bundle.
- Restore from clean backups if compromise indicators are found.
- Harden WordPress file permissions and reduce webserver write access.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether /wp-content/plugins/is-human/ exists on WordPress hosts.
- Identify any installed is-human version at or below 1.4.2.
- Review web logs for requests to /is-human/engine.php using log-reset behavior.
- Check for unexpected PHP files, modified plugin files, or webserver-owned artifacts.
- Review host telemetry for suspicious activity under the webserver user.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-95: Code execution behavior lookup
Code execution and unsafe deserialization weaknesses often justify reviewing execution behavior and process telemetry. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2011-10033 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.3 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
9.3CriticalVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/is-human/CVE reference, VulnCheck · product
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/17299CVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- https://web.archive.org/web/20120115212202/http://blog.spiderlabs.com/2012/01/honeypot-alert-is-human-wordpress-plugin-remote-command-execution-attack-detected.htmlCVE reference, VulnCheck · technical-description
- https://www.trustwave.com/en-us/resources/blogs/spiderlabs-blog/honeypot-alert-more-wordpress-is_human-plugin-remote-command-injection-attack-detected/CVE reference, VulnCheck · technical-description
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/wordpress-plugin-is-human-eval-injection-rceCVE reference, VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Neutralization of Directives in Dynamically Evaluated Code ('Eval Injection')
Improper Neutralization of Directives in Dynamically Evaluated Code ('Eval Injection') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.