# CVE-2017-8295: Auth bypass in n/a

> Attackers can reset arbitrary user passwords by manipulating the Host header in password reset emails, leading to account takeover.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.9 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 4 May 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2017-8295, GHSA-xr65-2gpf-fj8v, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-8295

## What is CVE-2017-8295?

CVE-2017-8295 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Wordpress Wordpress, published on 4 May 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

WordPress through 4.7.4 relies on the Host HTTP header for a password-reset e-mail message, which makes it easier for remote attackers to reset arbitrary passwords by making a crafted wp-login.php?action=lostpassword request and then arranging for this message to bounce or be resent, leading to transmission of the reset key to a mailbox on an attacker-controlled SMTP server. This is related to problematic use of the SERVER_NAME variable in wp-includes/pluggable.php in conjunction with the PHP mail function. Exploitation is not achievable in all cases because it requires at least one of the following: (1) the attacker can prevent the victim from receiving any e-mail messages for an extended period of time (such as 5 days), (2) the victim's e-mail system sends an autoresponse containing the original message, or (3) the victim manually composes a reply containing the original message.

Weakness: CWE-640 (Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-8295?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Wordpress Wordpress.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-8295?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2017-8295 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-8295 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- https://github.com/cyberheartmi9/CVE-2017-8295 (github_poc): https://github.com/cyberheartmi9/CVE-2017-8295
- a plugin that protects your wp site from the CVE-2017-8295 vulnerability (github_poc): https://github.com/alash3al/wp-allowed-hosts
- WordPress Core < 4.7.4 - Unauthorized Password Reset (exploitdb)
- https://github.com/homjxi0e/CVE-2017-8295-WordPress-4.7.4---Unauthorized-Password-Reset (github_poc): https://github.com/homjxi0e/CVE-2017-8295-WordPress-4.7.4---Unauthorized-Password-Reset

## 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-2017-8295 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-8295 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Wordpress Wordpress, published on 4 May 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-8295 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-2017-8295/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8295/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-8295
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-8295
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-8295

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8295/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.