# CVE-2019-20043: Missing authorization in n/a

> Authenticated users with limited roles can bypass publishing restrictions to mark posts as sticky via the REST API.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Dec 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** CVE-2019-16788, DEBIAN-CVE-2019-20043, GHSA-g7rg-hchx-c2gw, GHSA-ppxh-5qq2-77g8, UBUNTU-CVE-2019-20043

## What is CVE-2019-20043?

CVE-2019-20043 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 27 Dec 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In in wp-includes/rest-api/endpoints/class-wp-rest-posts-controller.php in WordPress 3.7 to 5.3.0, authenticated users who do not have the rights to publish a post are able to mark posts as sticky or unsticky via the REST API. For example, the contributor role does not have such rights, but this allowed them to bypass that. This has been patched in WordPress 5.3.1, along with all the previous WordPress versions from 3.7 to 5.3 via a minor release.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-20043?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Wordpress Wordpress.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-20043?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2019-20043 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-20043 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-20043 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-20043 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 27 Dec 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-20043 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2019-20043/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-20043/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-20043
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-20043
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-20043

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-20043/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.