Index: wp-includes/class-wp-xmlrpc-server.php
===================================================================
--- wp-includes/class-wp-xmlrpc-server.php	(revision 22339)
+++ wp-includes/class-wp-xmlrpc-server.php	(working copy)
@@ -1034,7 +1034,8 @@
 					return new IXR_Error( 401, __( 'Sorry, you are not allowed to publish posts in this post type' ) );
 				break;
 			default:
-				$post_data['post_status'] = 'draft';
+				if( ! get_post_status_object( $post_data['post_status'] ) )
+					$post_data['post_status'] = 'draft';
 			break;
 		}