Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
WP-CLI could silently stop checking HTTPS certificates after a TLS error. An attacker who can intercept WP-CLI traffic could impersonate update sources and tamper with WordPress or WP-CLI updates. This is critical for environments that run WP-CLI automation or updates.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation where WP-CLI performs updates or package management. The business risk is supply-chain tampering through trusted administration tooling, with high confidentiality and integrity impact if traffic interception is possible.
Technical view
In wp-cli/wp-cli before 2.5.0, WP_CLI\Utils\http_request() retried requests with certificate validation disabled after a TLS handshake error. Version 2.5.0 changed the default so TLS failure is a hard error unless the caller explicitly opts into insecure behavior.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on WordPress servers, build hosts, CI jobs, or administration workstations using WP-CLI versions before 2.5.0, including bundled or third-party WP-CLI packages that consume WP_CLI\Utils\http_request().
Exploitation context
The source bundle requires an attacker able to intercept communications. It describes potential update-source impersonation and malicious update delivery. KEV is false, and the provided sources do not establish active exploitation.
Researcher notes
The key behavior is fallback from failed TLS validation to an insecure retry. Review consumers of WP_CLI\Utils\http_request(), because the 2.5.0 secure default is a breaking change affecting bundled and third-party commands.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade wp-cli/wp-cli to version 2.5.0 or later.
- Update bundled WP-CLI packages affected by the changed secure default.
- Avoid using --insecure unless accepting the prior certificate-validation risk.
- For pre-2.5.0 deployments, check vendor guidance; sources name no direct workaround.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all systems and CI images running WP-CLI.
- Confirm WP-CLI versions are 2.5.0 or later.
- Review third-party WP-CLI packages that call WP_CLI\Utils\http_request().
- Verify operational runbooks do not add --insecure by default.
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-295: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. 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 lookupCVE-2021-29504 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
- 9.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A: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.
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:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N3.95.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.1CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/wp-cli/wp-cli/security/advisories/GHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qjCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/wp-cli/checksum-command/pull/86CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/wp-cli/config-command/pull/128CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/wp-cli/core-command/pull/186CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/wp-cli/extension-command/pull/287CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/wp-cli/package-command/pull/138CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/wp-cli/wp-cli/pull/5523CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.
CWE mapping pending import
This CVE carries a CWE mapping that will resolve to a full Glexia CWE intelligence page after the official CWE import is complete.
