CVE-2016-6897: n/a vulnerability

CVE-2016-6897: Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the wp_ajax_update_plugin function in wp-admin/includes/...

Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the wp_ajax_update_plugin function in wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php in WordPress before 4.6 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of subscribers for /dev/random read operations by leveraging a late call to the check_ajax_referer function, a related issue to CVE-2016-6896.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdatedAug 6, 2024, 01:43 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Security readout for executives and security teams

This is an old WordPress core issue fixed in WordPress 4.6. A malicious site could abuse a logged-in low-privilege WordPress user’s browser to trigger unsafe Ajax handling before a security check ran. The documented impact is forced reads from /dev/random, which can tie up server resources rather than expose business data. Exposure is most likely on WordPress installations older than 4.6, especially public sites that allow subscriber logins or keep stale authenticated user sessions active. Treat this as a legacy WordPress hygiene issue. It is not KEV-listed in the supplied data, but public exploit references and public-facing WordPress exposure justify prompt remediation on any outdated site. Mitigation focus: Upgrade WordPress core to version 4.6 or later.; Check vendor or host guidance for supported backported WordPress fixes.; Prioritize internet-facing sites with subscriber registration or many logged-in users..

Prepared: Jun 13, 2026, 12:51 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: Jan 18, 2017, 21:00 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Official CVE source material

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.

0CVSS vectors

0Timeline events

0ADP providers

5Source 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
40288CVE reference · exploit, x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB
https://sumofpwn.nl/advisory/2016/path_traversal_vulnerability_in_wordpress_core_ajax_handlers.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
https://github.com/WordPress/WordPress/commit/8c82515ab62b88fb32d01c9778f0204b296f3568CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/8606CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC

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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