CVE-2012-4421: n/a vulnerability

CVE-2012-4421: The create_post function in wp-includes/class-wp-atom-server.php in WordPress before 3.4.2 does not perform...

The create_post function in wp-includes/class-wp-atom-server.php in WordPress before 3.4.2 does not perform a capability check, which allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions and publish new posts by leveraging the Contributor role and using the Atom Publishing Protocol (aka AtomPub) feature.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdatedSep 17, 2024, 03:59 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Security readout for executives and security teams

CVE-2012-4421 lets a logged-in WordPress Contributor publish posts when they should not be able to. The issue affects WordPress before 3.4.2 and involves the Atom Publishing Protocol feature. Business impact is mainly unauthorized content publication, reputational harm, and content integrity loss on outdated sites. Exposure is limited to WordPress installations older than 3.4.2 where an attacker has valid Contributor-level credentials and AtomPub is usable. Modern WordPress deployments are unlikely to be affected unless they are extremely outdated. Treat as a cleanup priority for legacy WordPress. It is not marked as actively exploited, but any internet-facing WordPress site below 3.4.2 should be upgraded promptly because unauthorized publishing can damage trust and brand integrity. Mitigation focus: Upgrade affected WordPress installations to 3.4.2 or later.; Review vendor release notes and guidance for legacy upgrade paths.; Audit Contributor accounts and remove unnecessary access..

Prepared: Jun 27, 2026, 23:17 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record

Severity: Unknown
CVSS: Not scored
Known Exploited: No
Published: Sep 14, 2012, 19:00 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

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0CVSS vectors

0Timeline events

0ADP providers

1Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus

n/an/an/aListed

Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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