Scoop’s Views

WordPress.org has issued a rare statement, declaring the entire version of WordPress 2.1.1 insecure.

In fact, the developers went so far as to explain that “although not all downloads of [version] 2.1.1 were affected, we’re declaring the entire version dangerous.”

According to the WordPress.org site:

We received a note to our security mailing address about unusual and highly exploitable code in WordPress. The issue was investigated, and it appeared that the 2.1.1 download had been modified from its original code. We took the website down immediately to investigate what happened.

It was determined that a cracker had gained user-level access to one of the servers that powers WordPress.org, and had used that access to modify the download file. We have locked down that server for further forensics, but at this time it appears that the 2.1.1 download was the only thing touched by the attack. They modified two files in WP to include code that would allow for remote PHP execution.

The entire WordPress team is to be commended on its swift response to this vulnerability. Be sure to spread the news to others using WP v.2.1.1. A new version, WordPress v.2.1.2, has been uploaded to the WordPress.org, and is available for immediate download.