TI-2020-17065 Aliases CVE-2020-28039 GHSA-65h5-8qpr-9m3v

is_protected_meta in wp-includes/meta.php in WordPress before 5.5.2 allows arbitrary file…

MEDIUM 46Published 2020-10-31 · Updated 2024-08-04

Key facts

Attack vector: Network
Privileges required: None
User interaction: None
Attack complexity: Low
Impact type: —
Confidentiality · integrity · availability: None · High · High
Fix status: No fix listed

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA.

Summary

is_protected_meta in wp-includes/meta.php in WordPress before 5.5.2 allows arbitrary file deletion because it does not properly determine whether a meta key is considered protected.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.04108 90th percentileScored 2026-11-07

Fix No fix listed No fixed version in the sources yet

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

Vendor	Product	Affected versions	Fixed in	Status	Source
—	—	all versions	—	No fix listed	CNA

— Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 6

CPE	Versions	Role	Vendor
cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress::::::::	before 5.5.2	Vulnerable	WordPress
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:::::::*	9.0	Vulnerable	Debian
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:::::::*	10.0	Vulnerable	Debian
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04::::esm:::	16.04	Vulnerable	Canonical
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04::::lts:::	18.04	Vulnerable	Canonical
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04::::lts:::	20.04	Vulnerable	Canonical

cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 5.5.2 Vulnerable ·WordPress
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 9.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 10.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* Versions 16.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* Versions 18.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* Versions 20.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical

Remediation

No fixed version listed by the sources yet.

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat's page for this CVE →

Not affected: 1 product

Red Hat

Timeline

2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-28039
2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-65h5-8qpr-9m3v

References

Patch 1

https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/commit/d5ddd6d4be1bc9fd16b7796842e6fb26315705ad

Advisory 7

Sources

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences