CVE-2011-4342

BackWPup <= 1.7.1 - Remote File Inclusion

2011-03-28 00:00
Phil Taylor - Sense of Security Labs

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 1.7.2
Affected Plugin
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin
Affected Version
<= 1.7.1
CVSS
9.8Critical
Weakness type
CWE-98 · Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
CVE
CVE-2011-4342
View all BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2011-4342 is a critical-severity Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in the BackWPup WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.7.1. It carries a CVSS score of 9.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 1.7.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2011, reported by Phil Taylor - Sense of Security Labs.

Vulnerability Overview

PHP remote file inclusion vulnerability in wp_xml_export.php in the BackWPup plugin before 1.7.2 for WordPress allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary PHP code via a URL in the wpabs parameter.

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, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-98: Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')

Reaching this weakness in BackWPup <= 1.7.1 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 BackWPup the fix is 1.7.2: builds <= 1.7.1 are affected, anything from 1.7.2 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.7.2, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to BackWPup: 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: BackWPup 1.7.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Scanner
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-4342https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/515d6e6c-e20d-4fc4-9c56-80020196f2f0https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-4342

Related records

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