Email Before Download <= 3.6 - SMTP Header Injection
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 4.0
- Affected Plugin
- Email Before Download
- Affected Version
<= 3.6- CVSS
- 5.8Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-20 · Improper Input Validation
- CVE
CVE pending
At a glance
This record tracks a medium-severity Improper Input Validation vulnerability in the Email Before Download WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.6. It carries a CVSS score of 5.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 4.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2017, reported by Clément Notin.
Vulnerability Overview
The Email Before Download plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to SMTP Header Injection in versions up to, and including, 3.6 via the 'email_from' POST parameter, where the 'emailfrom' variable is concatenated in the SMTP 'From:' header and then directly passed to wp_mail. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to add newline characters which can lead to arbitrary headers/message bodies.
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.
CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
Email Before Download <= 3.6 carries this weakness at email_from, and reaching it takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Improper input validation means the application accepts input without confirming it has the form, type or range the code downstream assumes.
The concrete impact depends on where the unvalidated value lands, which is why records in this class range from cosmetic bugs to full compromise. For Email Before Download the fix is 4.0: builds <= 3.6 are affected, anything from 4.0 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 4.0, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Email Before Download: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Email Before Download 4.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
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