Aspose.Words – Import and Export word documents < 2.0 - Arbitrary File Download
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.0
- Affected Plugin
- Aspose.Words – Import and Export word documents
- Affected Version
< 2.0- CVSS
- 7.5High
- Weakness type
- CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
- CVE
CVE pending
At a glance
This record tracks a high-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the Aspose.Words WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 2.0. It carries a CVSS score of 7.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2015, reported by ACC3SS.
Vulnerability Overview
The Aspose.Words – Import and Export word documents plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Download in versions up to, and including, 1.0. This is due to insufficient input sanitization of the 'file' parameter. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to download any file, including configuration files.
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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality.
CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Aspose.Words < 2.0 carries this weakness at file, 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 Aspose.Words the fix is 2.0: builds < 2.0 are affected, anything from 2.0 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.0, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Aspose.Words: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Aspose.Words 2.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Aspose.Words – Import and Export word documents
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