Patchstack Urges WordPress Admins to Immediately Update From Version They Are Not Running
WordPress administrators were placed on heightened alert Friday after security platform Patchstack warned that WordPress versions below 7.0.3 contain a medium-severity SSRF vulnerability, prompting widespread concern among users already running WordPress 7.0.3.
“WordPress < 7.0.3 — SSRF vulnerability,” read the urgent security notice, directly above information confirming the website had successfully updated to WordPress 7.0.3 earlier that morning.
Sources confirmed the warning was especially terrifying because of the advanced mathematical concept involved.
“Apparently anything less than 7.0.3 is vulnerable,” said one shaken administrator, staring at a dashboard displaying version 7.0.3. “Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing whether 7.0.3 is less than 7.0.3 without contacting our hosting provider.”
Patchstack classified the issue as Low Priority, Not Known to be Exploited, and affecting versions the website is no longer using, creating what cybersecurity professionals call “the full panic package.”
The dashboard provided administrators with several critical pieces of information:
Vulnerable versions: < 7.0.3
Installed version: 7.0.3
Known exploitation: None
Required action: Apparently develop anxiety anyway
Industry experts praised the notification for ensuring that even completely patched websites can still enjoy the psychological benefits of having a security problem.
“This is an important innovation,” said cybersecurity analyst Thomas Keller. “Historically, once you patched a vulnerability, the fear would go away. Platforms like Patchstack are solving that.”
Administrators were reportedly advised to review the vulnerability details, verify their version number six additional times, clear every cache on the server, check Reddit, open a support ticket with their host, and briefly consider abandoning WordPress entirely before remembering that nothing is actually wrong.
At press time, Patchstack was reportedly testing a new alert system capable of notifying users about additional threats they have already fixed.
Upcoming notices include:
PHP Version You No Longer Use Contains Vulnerability
Plugin You Deleted in 2021 May Be Exploited
WordPress 6.4.2 Vulnerable — You Are Running 7.0.3, But Imagine If You Weren’t
Security Issue Successfully Resolved — Click Here to Panic