CVE-2021-29504

CRITICALNVD 9.19.1
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

“—” beside the score: it is equal to NVD's CVSS score.

Score 9.1 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: CRITICAL) published 2021-05-19. NVD baseline CVSS 9.1; sources differ by 0.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: EPSS, GitHub Security Advisory, NVD CVSS v3

Also known asEUVD-2021-1189 (ENISA EUVD) · GHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj (GitHub Security Advisories)Source: ENISA EUVD

9.1EG
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixRemediate within your standard update timelines (the SSVC decision on this page).
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 1.3%CVSS: 9.1Exploit: None knownExposed services: Not assessed

A fix is available — apply it.

WP-CLI is the command-line interface for WordPress. An improper error handling in HTTPS requests management in WP-CLI version 0.12.0 and later allows remote attackers able to intercept the communication to remotely disable the certificate verification on WP-CLI side, gaining full control over the communication content, including the ability to impersonate update servers and push malicious updates towards WordPress instances controlled by the vulnerable WP-CLI agent, or push malicious updates toward WP-CLI itself. The vulnerability stems from the fact that the default behavior of WP_CLI\Utils\http_request() when encountering a TLS handshake error is to disable certificate validation and retry the same request. The default behavior has been changed with version 2.5.0 of WP-CLI and the wp-cli/wp-cli framework (via https://github.com/wp-cli/wp-cli/pull/5523) so that the WP_CLI\Utils\http_request() method accepts an $insecure option that is false by default and consequently that a TLS handshake failure is a hard error by default. This new default is a breaking change and ripples through to all consumers of WP_CLI\Utils\http_request(), including those in separate WP-CLI bundled or third-party packages. https://github.com/wp-cli/wp-cli/pull/5523 has also added an --insecure flag to the cli update command to counter this breaking change. There is no direct workaround for the default insecure behavior of wp-cli/wp-cli versions before 2.5.0. The workaround for dealing with the breaking change in the commands directly affected by the new secure default behavior is to add the --insecure flag to manually opt-in to the previous insecure behavior.

CVSS v3
9.1
EG Score
9.1CRITICALmedium confidence
EG Risk
41
EG Risk 41/100

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score. It fuses impact severity (EG Severity, the CVSS base score, never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score) with real-world exploitation and automatability, under weights EchelonGraph set by hand, so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner.

How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)
Severity91% × 45%
Impact severity (EG Severity): CVSS 9.1 of 10. Never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score.
Exploitation1.3% × 40%
FIRST EPSS: the 30-day exploitation probability when EchelonGraph scored this CVE.
Automatability0% × 15%
CISA's BOD 26-04 default: no one has published Automatable for this CVE, and CISA treats it as “no” for a CVE not in KEV.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Track at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).
Exploitation none (no CISA value, KEV listing or exploit code on record) · Automatable no (CISA's BOD 26-04 default) · Technical impact total (CISA's BOD 26-04 default). EchelonGraph holds no SSVC assessment of this CVE from CISA: none of these inputs is from Vulnrichment. EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.
Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
EPSS PROB
1.3%
EPSS %ILE
71st
KEV
Not listed

What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)

The EG score (9.1): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 9.1 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.

EG Severity
9.1 CRITICALCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
EG Likelihood
1.3% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-11-12). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
Confirmed exploitation
None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
EG Priority
SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).CISA BOD 26-04: 14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.

SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).

A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.

Exploitation none (no CISA value, KEV listing or exploit code on record) · Automatable no (CISA's BOD 26-04 default) · Technical impact total (CISA's BOD 26-04 default). EchelonGraph holds no SSVC assessment of this CVE from CISA: none of these inputs is from Vulnrichment. EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table

BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.

The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA's BOD 26-04 default) · Technical impact total (CISA's BOD 26-04 default). Where an input reads “CISA's BOD 26-04 default”, no one has published it for this CVE, and CISA's implementation guidance says: “If “Automatable” and “Technical Impact” information items about a CVE ID are not available and the CVE ID is not in the KEV Catalog, CISA will treat its values as “no” and “total,” respectively, until CISA or a third party provides metadata about the CVE ID. CISA will always provide the Vulnrichment data for a CVE ID listed in the KEV Catalog.” Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it

Published

June 7, 2021

Last Modified

November 21, 2024

Advisory Details (7)

Auto-updated Jul 20, 2026
Patch available. Sources: github_pr, github.
GitHub pull request Patch Available

Add `--insecure` flag to `core download` & `core update` commands

Patch available: wp-cli/core-command v2.1.3 (PR #186 merged 2021-05-10)

https://github.com/wp-cli/core-command/pull/186
GitHub pull request Patch Available

Add `--insecure` flag to `config create` & `config shuffle-salts` commands

Patch available: wp-cli/config-command v2.1.0 (PR #128 merged 2021-05-10)

https://github.com/wp-cli/config-command/pull/128
GitHub pull request Patch Available

Add `--insecure` flag to `core|plugin verify-checksums` commands

Patch available: wp-cli/checksum-command v2.1.0 (PR #86 merged 2021-05-10)

https://github.com/wp-cli/checksum-command/pull/86
GitHub advisoryMentions a patch (unverified)

Improper Certificate Validation in WP-CLI framework · Advisory · wp-cli/wp-cli · GitHub

https://github.com/wp-cli/wp-cli/security/advisories/GHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj
GitHub pull request

Disable automatic retry by default on certificate validation error

Fix merged in wp-cli/wp-cli PR #5523 on 2021-05-10 — awaiting tagged release

https://github.com/wp-cli/wp-cli/pull/5523
GitHub pull request Patch Available

Add `--insecure` flag to `package install` command

Patch available: wp-cli/package-command v2.1.0 (PR #138 merged 2021-05-10)

https://github.com/wp-cli/package-command/pull/138
GitHub pull request Patch Available

Add `--insecure` flag to `plugin|theme install` & `plugin\theme update` commands

Patch available: wp-cli/extension-command v2.1.3 (PR #287 merged 2021-05-10)

https://github.com/wp-cli/extension-command/pull/287

Vendor Advisories for CVE-2021-29504(1)

These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.

Patch Availability(1)

Vendor / EcosystemFix (by version range) / PatchReleasedSource
composerwp-cli/wp-cli @ 2.5.0 (fixes >= 0.12.0, < 2.5.0)—ghsa

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

Affected Packages

(1 across 1 ecosystem)
Packagist(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
wp-cli/wp-cliv0.12.0 ... v2.4.1 (46 versions)
  • 0.12.0 up to 2.5.0: fixed in 2.5.0
—

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 14× in last 7d / 45× in last 30d)

Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed its CVE.org record (CNA or CISA ADP). An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). "EchelonGraph re-scored" is our own recompute of this CVE's score, not an update from a source, and is not counted in the refreshes above. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 269 rows on record for this CVE, as 99 entries (1 repeat merged).

A repeat, a row identical to one the same pipeline wrote less than 10 seconds earlier, is not a separate refresh and is not counted. 1 repeat row among the latest 100 is merged into the row it repeats. The 169 oldest rows on record are not shown and were not checked, so the counts can still include repeats.

  1. 2026-11-12 22:54 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  2. 2026-11-12 22:54 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.1
  3. 2026-11-12 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  4. 2026-11-12 00:50 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  5. 2026-11-12 00:50 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.1
  6. 2026-11-11 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  7. 2026-11-11 02:47 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  8. 2026-11-11 02:47 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.1
  9. 2026-11-10 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  10. 2026-11-10 04:25 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  11. 2026-11-10 04:25 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.1
  12. 2026-11-09 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  13. 2026-11-09 06:21 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  14. 2026-11-09 06:21 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.1
  15. 2026-11-08 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  16. 2026-11-08 08:17 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  17. 2026-11-08 08:17 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.1
  18. 2026-11-07 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  19. 2026-11-07 10:14 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  20. 2026-11-07 10:14 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.1
  21. 2026-11-06 16:30 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  22. 2026-11-06 12:06 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  23. 2026-11-06 12:06 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.1
  24. 2026-11-05 16:30 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  25. 2026-11-05 14:02 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
Show 74 more
  1. 2026-11-05 14:02 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.1
  2. 2026-11-04 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  3. 2026-11-04 15:58 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.1
  4. 2026-11-03 17:54 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  5. 2026-11-03 17:54 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.1
  6. 2026-11-03 17:25 UTCOSV refresh
  7. 2026-11-03 16:37 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  8. 2026-11-02 19:51 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  9. 2026-11-02 19:51 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.1
  10. 2026-11-02 16:37 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  11. 2026-11-01 21:47 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  12. 2026-11-01 21:46 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.1
  13. 2026-11-01 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  14. 2026-11-01 08:33 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rwgm-f83r-v3qj · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 9.1
  15. 2026-11-01 08:33 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  16. 2026-10-31 23:43 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  17. 2026-10-31 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  18. 2026-10-31 01:39 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  19. 2026-10-30 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  20. 2026-10-30 03:35 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  21. 2026-10-29 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  22. 2026-10-29 05:32 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  23. 2026-10-28 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  24. 2026-10-28 07:29 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  25. 2026-10-27 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  26. 2026-10-27 09:26 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  27. 2026-10-26 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  28. 2026-10-25 18:30 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  29. 2026-10-25 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  30. 2026-10-25 13:09 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  31. 2026-10-24 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  32. 2026-10-23 17:02 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  33. 2026-10-23 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  34. 2026-10-22 18:58 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  35. 2026-10-22 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  36. 2026-10-21 20:55 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  37. 2026-10-21 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  38. 2026-10-20 22:51 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  39. 2026-10-20 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  40. 2026-10-20 00:30 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  41. 2026-10-19 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  42. 2026-10-18 23:24 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  43. 2026-10-18 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  44. 2026-10-18 09:04 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  45. 2026-10-18 01:18 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  46. 2026-10-17 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  47. 2026-10-17 02:42 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  48. 2026-10-16 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  49. 2026-10-16 04:36 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  50. 2026-10-15 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  51. 2026-10-15 03:04 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  52. 2026-10-14 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 70th percentile
  53. 2026-10-13 23:14 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  54. 2026-10-13 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  55. 2026-10-12 19:18 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  56. 2026-10-12 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  57. 2026-10-11 23:44 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  58. 2026-10-11 13:43 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  59. 2026-10-10 19:56 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  60. 2026-10-09 20:04 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  61. 2026-10-09 19:58 UTCOSV refresh
  62. 2026-10-08 16:39 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  63. 2026-10-07 23:44 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  64. 2026-10-06 15:14 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  65. 2026-10-05 17:40 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  66. 2026-10-03 14:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  67. 2026-10-02 16:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  68. 2026-10-01 19:46 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  69. 2026-09-30 15:34 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  70. 2026-09-30 15:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  71. 2026-09-29 15:15 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  72. 2026-09-28 13:47 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  73. 2026-09-27 13:41 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile
  74. 2026-09-26 15:54 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 69th percentile

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2021-29504?
CVE-2021-29504 is a critical-severity vulnerability; its CVE record was published on June 7, 2021. WP-CLI is the command-line interface for WordPress. An improper error handling in HTTPS requests management in WP-CLI version 0.12.0 and later allows remote attackers able to intercept the communication to remotely disable the certificate verification on WP-CLI side, gaining full control over the…
When was the CVE record for CVE-2021-29504 published?
The CVE record for CVE-2021-29504 was published on June 7, 2021. That is the record's publication date; the vulnerability itself may have been made public earlier. EchelonGraph's copy of the record carries a last-modified date of November 21, 2024; the record at its source may have been updated since.
Is CVE-2021-29504 actively exploited?
CVE-2021-29504 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 1.3% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (71st percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs).
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-29504?
CVE-2021-29504 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.1 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2021-29504?
A fix for CVE-2021-29504 is available: update to the fixed version the vendor names in its advisory. The vendor advisories EchelonGraph has for CVE-2021-29504 are linked in the Vendor Advisories panel on this page.

Dependency Blast Radius

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