CVE-2011-3129

WordPress Core <= 3.1.2 - Arbitrary File Upload

2011-05-25 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 3.1.3
Affected Core: WordPress 3.1
Affected Version: <= 3.1.2
CVSS: 8.8High
Weakness type: CWE-434 · Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type
CVE: CVE-2011-3129

At a glance

CVE-2011-3129 is a high-severity Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type vulnerability in the WordPress 3.1 WordPress release line, affecting <= 3.1.2. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). The issue is fixed in version 3.1.3; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed May 2011.

Vulnerability Overview

The file upload functionality in WordPress 3.1 before 3.1.3 and 3.2 before Beta 2, when running "on hosts with dangerous security settings," has unknown impact and attack vectors, possibly related to dangerous filenames.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-434: Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type

Reaching this weakness in WordPress 3.1 <= 3.1.2 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. An unrestricted file upload lets a caller store a file whose type or destination the application does not properly constrain.

If an uploaded file lands anywhere the server will execute, the flaw becomes remote code execution and the site should be treated as fully compromised. For WordPress 3.1 the fix is 3.1.3: builds <= 3.1.2 are affected, anything from 3.1.3 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.1.3, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to WordPress 3.1: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. Classes like this one can leave something behind, so the staged malware scanner is the second half: it looks for dropped files and modified code rather than for the request that created them. None of that substitutes for the fix: updating to 3.1.3 is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Scanner
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-3129 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/861da9ac-fd73-4bb5-bc39-baf9efe71899 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-3129

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in WordPress 3.1

CVSS Vector

8.8

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh

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