Wiz
Vulnerability DatabaseCVE-2020-36176

CVE-2020-36176: 
WordPress vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Overview

CVE-2020-36176 affects the iThemes Security (formerly Better WP Security) plugin versions before 7.7.0 for WordPress. The vulnerability was discovered and disclosed on January 6, 2021. The issue relates to password requirement enforcement, where the plugin does not enforce new-password requirements for existing accounts until the second login occurs (NVD, WPScan).

Technical details

The vulnerability is classified as an Improper Authentication issue (CWE-287). It has been assigned a CVSS v3.1 Base Score of 7.5 HIGH with a vector string of CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N (NVD).

Impact

The vulnerability could leave user accounts configured with potentially weak passwords until the user changes it during their second login, potentially exposing accounts to unauthorized access (WPScan).

Exploitability

The vulnerability is remotely exploitable and requires no special privileges or user interaction to exploit. The attack complexity is considered low, making it relatively straightforward to take advantage of the vulnerability (NVD).

Mitigation and workarounds

Users should upgrade to iThemes Security version 7.7.0 or later to address this vulnerability (NVD).

Additional resources

Source: This report was generated using AI

Related WordPress vulnerabilities:

CVE ID

Severity

Score

Technologies

Component name

CISA KEV exploit

Has fix

Published date

CVE-2024-13784CRITICAL9.8
  • arforms-form-builder
NoYesAug 16, 2026
CVE-2026-17087HIGH7.5
  • wp-travel-engine
NoYesAug 16, 2026
CVE-2026-2497HIGH7.2
  • gallery-plugin
NoYesAug 16, 2026
CVE-2026-17608MEDIUM6.5
  • wp-compress-image-optimizer
NoYesAug 16, 2026
CVE-2026-2357MEDIUM6.4
  • bold-page-builder
NoYesAug 16, 2026

Free Vulnerability Assessment

Benchmark your Cloud Security Posture

Evaluate your cloud security practices across 9 security domains to benchmark your risk level and identify gaps in your defenses.

Request assessment

Additional Wiz resources

Cloud Vulnerability DB

Cloud Vulnerability DB

A community-led vulnerabilities database

Cloud Threat Landscape

Cloud Threat Landscape

A threat intelligence database

PEACH

PEACH

A tenant isolation framework

Get a personalized demo

Ready to see Wiz in action?

"Best User Experience I have ever seen, provides full visibility to cloud workloads."
David EstlickCISO
"Wiz provides a single pane of glass to see what is going on in our cloud environments."
Adam FletcherChief Security Officer
"We know that if Wiz identifies something as critical, it actually is."
Greg PoniatowskiHead of Threat and Vulnerability Management
Get a demo