# CVE-2012-5868: Information disclosure in n/a

> Failure to invalidate session cookies on logout allows attackers to brute-force valid admin session IDs, leading to data disclosure and modification.

- **Severity:** Low 2.6 (`AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 27 Dec 2012
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-5868, GHSA-vpmj-9973-3qg4, UBUNTU-CVE-2012-5868

## What is CVE-2012-5868?

CVE-2012-5868 is a low-severity vulnerability in Wordpress Wordpress, published on 27 Dec 2012. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

WordPress 3.4.2 does not invalidate a wordpress_sec session cookie upon an administrator's logout action, which makes it easier for remote attackers to discover valid session identifiers via a brute-force attack, or modify data via a replay attack.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-5868?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Wordpress Wordpress.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-5868?

No fix has been published for CVE-2012-5868 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2012-5868 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-5868 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## 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-2012-5868 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-5868 is a low-severity vulnerability in Wordpress Wordpress, published on 27 Dec 2012. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-5868 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2012-5868/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-5868/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-5868
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-5868
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-5868

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-5868/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.