WordPress 3.8.1, released in 2014, is an outdated version still used by 28 websites worldwide. This legacy version contains 22 known security vulnerabilities—including 1 critical flaw and 6 high-severity issues—that attackers actively exploit. If your website is running this version, you're at serious risk of data breaches, unauthorized access, and malware infections.
The most dangerous vulnerability is CVE-2023-2032, a critical SQL injection flaw in the Custom 404 Pro plugin that allows attackers to manipulate your database without permission. Other high-risk vulnerabilities enable privilege escalation, arbitrary file uploads, and authorization bypasses across multiple popular plugins.
This guide explains the threats targeting WordPress 3.8.1, how to check if you're vulnerable, and the exact steps to secure your installation immediately.
WordPress 3.8.1 is an ancient version of WordPress, the world's most popular website platform. Released in 2014, it powered millions of websites but is now obsolete. Think of WordPress like the operating system for your website—it provides the core features you need to create, publish, and manage content without coding.
WordPress 3.8.1 specifically introduced the 'Maduro' theme and some UI improvements, but these features are now outdated and unsupported. More importantly, WordPress stopped releasing security updates for this version years ago. This means any new threats discovered (like the 22 vulnerabilities found today) will never be patched, leaving your site permanently exposed. Running WordPress 3.8.1 in 2025 is like driving a car without brakes—it might work, but disaster is inevitable.
22 CVEs found. The most critical are explained below.
The Custom 404 Pro plugin has a serious flaw where it doesn't properly check user input before storing it in your database. Attackers can exploit this to inject malicious commands directly into your WordPress database. This is one of the most dangerous types of attacks because it can compromise your entire website.
Impact: Hackers could steal customer data, modify or delete website content, create unauthorized admin accounts, or take complete control of your WordPress site.
↗ View on NVDThe SMS Alert Order Notifications plugin doesn't properly verify user identity when someone tries to log in. This means someone with low-level access could trick the system into acting like a higher-level user with more permissions. Even though attackers need some access to your site, they can escalate their privileges dangerously.
Impact: An attacker with basic access could gain admin-level permissions, allowing them to modify orders, access customer information, or make unauthorized changes to your store.
↗ View on NVDThe AP Background plugin doesn't properly check who is uploading files or what type of files are being uploaded. Someone with subscriber-level access (a low-level account type) could upload dangerous files like executable programs or scripts to your server.
Impact: Attackers could upload malicious files that could be executed on your website, potentially giving them control over your server, stealing data, or spreading malware to your visitors.
↗ View on NVDThe CMP plugin doesn't verify that users have permission to access certain functions. This means anyone visiting your site—even without an account—could potentially view private posts, export sensitive data, or access administrative features.
Impact: Unauthorized visitors could read confidential posts, export your customer or business data, or disable important security features without any authentication needed.
↗ View on NVDThe LeagueManager plugin has an old but serious vulnerability where attackers can inject malicious database commands through the league export page. Even though this is an older vulnerability, if you're still using this plugin version, your site remains exposed.
Impact: Hackers could execute unauthorized database commands, steal sensitive information, delete data, or compromise your website's integrity.
↗ View on NVDThe WP Post Author plugin has a flaw where attackers can inject malicious code through a specific parameter. They can do this by timing how long the database takes to respond to carefully crafted requests, making it a slower but effective attack method.
Impact: Attackers could extract sensitive data from your database, including customer information, post details, or user credentials over time.
↗ View on NVDShowing first 10 of 16. View all on NVD ↗
| CVE ID | Severity | Score | Published | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2024-11052 | HIGH | 7.2 | 2024-12-12 | The Ninja Forms – The Contact Form Builder That Grows With You plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the calculations parameter in all versions up … |
| CVE-2022-4024 | MEDIUM | 6.5 | 2022-12-19 | The Registration Forms WordPress plugin before 3.8.1.3 does not have authorisation and CSRF when deleting users via an init action handler, allowing unauthenticated attackers to d… |
| CVE-2020-36704 | MEDIUM | 6.4 | 2023-06-07 | The Fruitful Theme for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via several parameters stored via the fruitful_theme_options_action AJAX action in versions up to, an… |
| CVE-2024-2079 | MEDIUM | 6.4 | 2024-03-13 | The WPBakery Page Builder Addons by Livemesh plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's 'per_line_mobile' shortcode in all versions up to, … |
| CVE-2025-3878 | MEDIUM | 6.4 | 2025-05-10 | The SMS Alert Order Notifications – WooCommerce plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's sa_verify shortcode in all versions up to, and i… |
| CVE-2015-9306 | MEDIUM | 6.1 | 2019-08-12 | The wp-ultimate-csv-importer plugin before 3.8.1 for WordPress has XSS. |
| CVE-2021-24214 | MEDIUM | 6.1 | 2021-05-06 | The OpenID Connect Generic Client WordPress plugin 3.8.0 and 3.8.1 did not sanitise the login error when output back in the login form, leading to a reflected Cross-Site Scripting… |
| CVE-2022-4374 | MEDIUM | 6.1 | 2023-01-09 | The Bg Bible References WordPress plugin through 3.8.14 does not sanitize and escape a parameter before outputting it back in the page, leading to a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting. |
| CVE-2024-7354 | MEDIUM | 6.1 | 2024-09-02 | The Ninja Forms WordPress plugin before 3.8.11 does not escape an URL before outputting it back in an attribute, leading to a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting which could be used a… |
| CVE-2023-6788 | MEDIUM | 5.4 | 2024-01-09 | The Metform Elementor Contact Form Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in all versions up to, and including, 3.8.1. This is due to missing or … |
| CVE-2024-7413 | MEDIUM | 5.3 | 2024-08-12 | The Obfuscate Email plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Full Path Disclosure in all versions up to, and including, 3.8.1. This is due to the plugin allowing direct access to the… |
| CVE-2024-3866 | MEDIUM | 4.7 | 2024-09-25 | The Ninja Forms Contact Form plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Reflected Self-Based Cross-Site Scripting via the 'Referer' header in all versions up to, and including, 3.8.15 … |
| CVE-2022-0384 | MEDIUM | 4.3 | 2022-03-07 | The Video Conferencing with Zoom WordPress plugin before 3.8.17 does not have authorisation in its vczapi_get_wp_users AJAX action, allowing any authenticated users, such as subsc… |
| CVE-2022-2657 | MEDIUM | 4.3 | 2022-09-05 | The Multivendor Marketplace Solution for WooCommerce WordPress plugin before 3.8.12 is lacking authorisation and CSRF in multiple AJAX actions, which could allow any authenticated… |
| CVE-2026-3140 | MEDIUM | 4.3 | 2026-05-01 | The Ultimate Dashboard plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in all versions up to, and including, 3.8.14. This is due to a flawed nonce validation cond… |
| CVE-2021-36849 | LOW | 3.4 | 2022-07-20 | Authenticated (admin+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in René Hermenau's Social Media Share Buttons plugin <= 3.8.1 at WordPress. |
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WordPress 3.8.1 is dangerously outdated, carrying 22 active vulnerabilities that put your data, visitors, and reputation at risk. The critical SQL injection flaw alone could allow attackers to steal sensitive information or take control of your entire website. Delaying this update is not an option—every day your site runs unpatched increases the probability of a successful attack.
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