Administrator Z <= 2022.9.28 - Unauthorized File Upload via ACF
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2022.9.29
- Affected Plugin
- Administrator Z
- Affected Version
<= 2022.9.28- CVSS
- 4.3Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE pending
At a glance
This record tracks a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Administrator Z WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2022.9.28. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The issue is fixed in version 2022.9.29; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2022.
Vulnerability Overview
The Administrator Z plugin for WordPress uses Advanced Custom Fields which has a file upload vulnerability in versions up to, and including, 5.12.2. This makes it possible for users without the upload_files capability, such as contributors, or unauthenticated users in cases where a frontend form is added to the site, to upload allowed file types. The upload is handled by WordPress so file type and extension checks still occur, though this could potentially be used by high-privileged users in certain locked-down configurations to bypass other security mechanisms and upload dangerous file types. This affects versions up to, and including, 2022.9.28 in the Administrator Z plugin.
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.
CWE-862: Missing Authorization
Reaching this weakness in Administrator Z <= 2022.9.28 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. A missing authorization check means a function is reachable by anyone who can reach the endpoint, because the code never asks whether the caller is allowed to perform the action.
Any user who can reach the endpoint gets to run an action reserved for higher-privileged roles, from reading protected data to changing settings or content. For Administrator Z the fix is 2022.9.29: builds <= 2022.9.28 are affected, anything from 2022.9.29 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2022.9.29, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
Because it turns on account access, WordSec's login security is the relevant layer: role-based two-factor, captcha and brute-force limits raise the cost of getting the account this needs. None of that substitutes for the fix: Administrator Z 2022.9.29 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Same weakness class
Other vulnerabilities in Administrator Z
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