Admin Word Count Column <= 2.2 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Read
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Unpatched
- Affected Plugin
- Admin Word Count Column
- Affected Version
<= 2.2- CVSS
- 6.5Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
- CVE
CVE-2022-1390
At a glance
CVE-2022-1390 is a medium-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the Admin Word Count Column WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.2. It carries a CVSS score of 6.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. No fixed release has been reported yet; treat installations running this software as exposed. Disclosed April 2022, reported by Hassan Khan Yusufzai - Splint3r7.
Vulnerability Overview
The Admin Word Count Column WordPress plugin through 2.2 does not validate the path parameter given to readfile(), which could allow unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary files on server running old version of PHP susceptible to the null byte technique. This could also lead to RCE by using a Phar Deserialization technique CVE-2022-50953 is a duplicate of this.
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 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')
Admin Word Count Column <= 2.2 carries this weakness at readfile(), and reaching it takes no account at all. 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. No fixed build of this plugin is recorded for Admin Word Count Column yet, so installs running <= 2.2 stay exposed until the vendor ships one.
Remediation
No known patch available. Please review the vulnerability's details in depth and employ mitigations based on your organization's risk tolerance. It may be best to uninstall the affected software and find a replacement.
How does WordSec protect against this?
Requests carrying this pattern arrive without a session, so nothing upstream of the firewall gets a chance to reject them: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. No patched version is recorded yet, which is the case where a filtering layer matters most, because there is nothing to update to.
- Firewall
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Same weakness class
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