Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.0
- Affected Plugin
- Download Shortcode
- Affected Version
<= 0.2.3- CVSS
- 7.5High
- Weakness type
- CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
- CVE
CVE-2014-5465
At a glance
CVE-2014-5465 is a high-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the Download Shortcode WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 0.2.3. 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 1.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2013.
Vulnerability Overview
Directory traversal vulnerability in force-download.php in the Download Shortcode plugin 0.2.3 and earlier for WordPress allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via a .. (dot dot) in the file 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.
CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Reaching this weakness in Download Shortcode <= 0.2.3 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 Download Shortcode the fix is 1.0: builds <= 0.2.3 are affected, anything from 1.0 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.0, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Download Shortcode: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Download Shortcode 1.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C