# CVE-2012-0937: Server-side request forgery in n/a

> Remote attackers can exploit the WordPress installation script to proxy brute-force or denial-of-service attacks against external MySQL servers.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 30 Jan 2012
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-0937, GHSA-rrrf-759h-mc79

## What is CVE-2012-0937?

CVE-2012-0937 is a medium-severity server-side request forgery vulnerability in Wordpress Wordpress, published on 30 Jan 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

wp-admin/setup-config.php in the installation component in WordPress 3.3.1 and earlier does not limit the number of MySQL queries sent to external MySQL database servers, which allows remote attackers to use WordPress as a proxy for brute-force attacks or denial of service attacks via the dbhost parameter, a different vulnerability than CVE-2011-4898.  NOTE: the vendor disputes the significance of this issue because an incomplete WordPress installation might be present on the network for only a short time

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-0937?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Wordpress Wordpress.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-0937?

No fix has been published for CVE-2012-0937 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2012-0937 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2012-0937 exists.

Public exploit code:

- WordPress Core 3.3.1 - Multiple Vulnerabilities (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Wordpress Wordpress

- [CVE-2026-63030](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-63030/): WordPress Core Interpretation Conflict (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-87902](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-87902/): WordPress Core Remote File Inclusion (high 8.1, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-60137](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-60137/): WordPress Core SQL Injection (medium 5.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2012-2399](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2399/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2012-2400](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2400/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-0937 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-0937 is a medium-severity server-side request forgery vulnerability in Wordpress Wordpress, published on 30 Jan 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2012-0937 exists.

Affected product: Wordpress Wordpress. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-0937/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-0937/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-0937
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-0937
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-0937

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-0937/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.