Comments form auto-filled with incorrect information

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    Experienced a strange bug on a WordPress install today where the comment fields: Name, E-Mail, and Website, were filled in with some random person’s details. Refreshing didn’t seem to solve the problem.

    We’re not behind the same NAT or using the same Internet connection (don’t know the guy at all).

    We have multiple Wi-Fi hotspots connected to the Internet via different ISPs here, so I disconnected my ethernet cable and connected to one of the APs that use a different ISP to the one I was using. When I refreshed the fields were empty.

    This only seemed to happen on one post, not others as well. I navigated to different posts and navigated back (not just using the back button).

    Then I disconnected from the AP, plugged my network cable back in, and when I refreshed the fields were still blank.

    So first up: How does WordPress know which details to fill into the fields?

    And: Why would this error occur?

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

  • I think that was an issue with your browser – not WordPress.

    Thread Starter The Extremist

    (@the-extremist)

    No it can’t be.

    Sorry if it wasn’t clear, but I didn’t fill in those details — they must have come from the server/WordPress install. That is, there is no way the browser could’ve had these details if they weren’t provided to it by WordPress.

    The details of a random guy I’ve never met were in the comment form being displayed on my PC. No-one has used this machine but me.

    WordPress doesn’t pre-populate comment forms – only browsers do. My guess is that is a browser cache/cookie problem.

    Thread Starter The Extremist

    (@the-extremist)

    I believe you’re mistaken. There’s no way my browser magically divined this person’s info. It had to come from somewhere.

    There are earlier forum threads which described on a very high level what would need to go wrong for something like this to occur, but they didn’t actually explain what WordPress does to pre-fill these fields.

    WordPress itself does not pre-populate comment forms. Have you tried:

    – deactivating all plugins to see if this resolves the problem? If this works, re-activate the plugins one by one until you find the problematic plugin(s).

    – switching to the Twenty Ten theme to rule out any theme-specific problems?

    – resetting the plugins folder by FTP or PhpMyAdmin? Sometimes, an apparently inactive plugin can still cause problems.

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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