WordPress Ad Widget <= 2.11.0 - Local File Inclusion
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.12.0
- Affected Plugin
- Ad Widget for WordPress
- Affected Version
< 2.12.0- CVSS
- 9.9Critical
- Weakness type
- CWE-98 · Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
- CVE
CVE pending
At a glance
This record tracks a critical-severity Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in the Ad Widget for WordPress WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 2.12.0. It carries a CVSS score of 9.9 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). The issue is fixed in version 2.12.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2017, reported by DefenceCode.
Vulnerability Overview
The WordPress Ad Widget plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion in versions up to, and including, 2.11.0 via the 'step' parameter found in the ad-widget\views\modal\index.php file. This allows unauthenticated attackers to include and execute arbitrary files on the server, allowing the execution of any PHP code in those files. This can be used to bypass access controls, obtain sensitive data, or achieve code execution in cases where images and other “safe” file types can be uploaded and included.
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-98: Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
Ad Widget for WordPress < 2.12.0 carries this weakness at step, and reaching it takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. PHP file inclusion means a path used by include or require is built from request data, so the file that gets executed is under the caller's influence.
Including an attacker-influenced file executes its contents, which is why this class is routinely chained with an upload or log-poisoning step to reach code execution. For Ad Widget for WordPress the fix is 2.12.0: builds < 2.12.0 are affected, anything from 2.12.0 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.12.0, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Ad Widget for WordPress: 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: Ad Widget for WordPress 2.12.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Ad Widget for WordPress
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