CVE-2020-11027: Password reset links invalidation issue in WordPress

Severity: high (CVSS 8.1 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 13.6% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: yes
Published: 2020-04-30 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-672

Description

In affected versions of WordPress, a password reset link emailed to a user does not expire upon changing the user password. Access would be needed to the email account of the user by a malicious party for successful execution. This has been patched in version 5.4.1, along with all the previously affected versions via a minor release (5.3.3, 5.2.6, 5.1.5, 5.0.9, 4.9.14, 4.8.13, 4.7.17, 4.6.18, 4.5.21, 4.4.22, 4.3.23, 4.2.27, 4.1.30, 4.0.30, 3.9.31, 3.8.33, 3.7.33).

Affected products

Debian Linux: 8.0, 9.0, 10.0
WordPress: from 3.7 before 3.7.33; from 3.8 before 3.8.33; from 3.9 before 3.9.31; from 4.0 before 4.0.30; from 4.1 before 4.1.30; from 4.2 before 4.2.27 — fixed in 3.7.33, 3.8.33, 3.9.31, 4.0.30, 4.1.30, 4.2.27

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: WordPress 3.7.33, 3.8.33, 3.9.31, 4.0.30. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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