The team behind the open-source WordPress vulnerability scanner WPScan has launched a database containing information on numerous known security holes affecting WordPress.
The WPScan Vulnerability Database was launched last week at the BruCON security conference, which funded the project through its 5by5 initiative.
“The new vulnerability database will make WPScan’s database files more accessible to the public by presenting them in a more consumable manner within a web interface. This will also make the management of the vulnerabilities we have sourced over the years much easier,” Ryan Dewhurst, the initiator of the WPScan project, wrote in a blog post.
The WPScan Vulnerability Database has been compiled by the WPScan Team and others who have contributed to the development of the vulnerability scanner. Anyone can submit flaws through the website, but all issues are entered into the database manually.
The vulnerabilities have been split into three categories: WordPress core, plugins and themes. So far, the database contain information on approximately 750 WordPress core, 1,300 plugin and 350 theme flaws. The information includes affected software versions, references and classification.
Developers and WPScan users can make use of the data for free via the website or the API as long as it’s not for commercial purposes. A license is required for commercial usage of the vulnerability database.
Some improvements have already been made to the database based on feedback from users, including the addition of CWE classification for vulnerabilities. “There are also lots of other improvements in the pipeline which we hope to make available as soon as possible,” Dewhurst said.
Version 2.5 of WPScan, which is pre-installed on Linux distributions such as BackBox, Kali, Pentoo, SamuraiWTF and ArchAssault, has also been launched. The latest version brings bug fixes and enhancements.
Numerous vulnerabilities have been discovered in WordPress and in WordPress plugins recently. Last month, WordPress fixed a remotely exploitable flaw that could have been leveraged for denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.
The security issues plaguing plugins can also be dangerous. In July, Sucuri reported that a vulnerability in the popular MailPoet newsletter plugin was exploited to compromise thousands of websites. More recently, cybercriminals leveraged a flaw in the Slider Revolution premium plugin to compromise WordPress sites.
Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a contributing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.
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