BuddyPress 2.0 - 2.7.3 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Deletion

2016-12-23 00:00
Sam Pizzey (mopman)

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.7.4
Affected Plugin
BuddyPress
Affected Version
2.0 – 2.7.3
CVSS
10.0Critical
Weakness type
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVE
CVE pending
View all BuddyPress vulnerabilities

At a glance

This record tracks a critical-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the BuddyPress WordPress plugin, affecting versions 2.0 – 2.7.3. It carries a CVSS score of 10.0 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.7.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2016, reported by Sam Pizzey (mopman).

Vulnerability Overview

The BuddyPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Deletion in versions 2.0 - 2.7.3. This allows unauthenticated attackers to delete the contents of arbitrary files on the server, which can lead to site takeover

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 integrity, availability.

CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

Reaching this weakness in BuddyPress 2.0 – 2.7.3 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. For BuddyPress the fix is 2.7.4: builds 2.0 – 2.7.3 are affected, anything from 2.7.4 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.7.4, or a newer patched version

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. None of that substitutes for the fix: BuddyPress 2.7.4 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/5a3e2d1c-8879-4def-8861-3d6d8b683b7e

Related records

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