CVE-2023-2745

WordPress Core < 6.2.1 - Directory Traversal

2023-05-16 00:00
Ram

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 4.1.38
Affected Core
WordPress 6.2
Affected Version
4.1.38 – < 6.2.1 · 22 branches
CVSS
5.4Medium
Weakness type
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVE
CVE-2023-2745
View all WordPress 6.2 vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-2745 is a medium-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the WordPress 6.2 WordPress release line, affecting 4.1.38 – < 6.2.1 · 22 branches. It carries a CVSS score of 5.4 (reachable over the network). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 4.1.38; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed May 2023, reported by Ram.

Vulnerability Overview

WordPress Core is vulnerable to Directory Traversal in versions up to, and including, 6.2, via the ‘wp_lang’ parameter. This allows unauthenticated attackers to access and load arbitrary translation files. In cases where an attacker is able to upload a crafted translation file onto the site, such as via an upload form, this could be also used to perform a Cross-Site Scripting attack.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, and no privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user.

CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

WordPress 6.2 4.1.38 – < 6.2.1 · 22 branches carries this weakness at wp_lang, and reaching it takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Path traversal happens when user-controlled text is used to build a filesystem path without being constrained to an intended directory, so sequences like ../ walk the resolved path somewhere else.

Depending on the operation, it means reading files outside the intended folder — wp-config.php being the usual target — or writing to and deleting paths the web server can touch. For WordPress 6.2 the fix is 4.1.38: builds 4.1.38 – < 6.2.1 · 22 branches are affected, anything from 4.1.38 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to one of the following versions, or a newer patched version: 4.1.38, 4.2.35, 4.3.31, 4.4.30, 4.5.29, 4.6.26, 4.7.26, 4.8.22, 4.9.23, 5.0.19, 5.1.16, 5.2.18, 5.3.15, 5.4.13, 5.5.12, 5.6.11, 5.7.9, 5.8.7, 5.9.6, 6.0.4, 6.1.2, 6.2.1

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to WordPress 6.2: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: updating to 4.1.38 is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-2745https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/edcf46b6-368e-49c0-b2c3-99bf6e2d358fhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-2745

Related records

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