CVE-2022-2554

Enable Media Replace <= 3.6.3 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Path Traversal

2022-09-14 00:00
Raad Haddad

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 4.0.0
Affected Plugin
Enable Media Replace
Affected Version
<= 3.6.3
CVSS
6.8Medium
Weakness type
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVE
CVE-2022-2554
View all Enable Media Replace vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2022-2554 is a medium-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the Enable Media Replace WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.6.3. It carries a CVSS score of 6.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high integrity impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Administrator level or above. The issue is fixed in version 4.0.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2022, reported by Raad Haddad.

Vulnerability Overview

The Enable Media Replace plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to path traversal when renaming files in versions up to, and including, 3.6.3. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with administrator-level permissions and above, to move files on the affected site's server outside of the webroot.

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 interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on integrity.

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

Reaching this weakness in Enable Media Replace <= 3.6.3 takes an account at Administrator level or above. 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 Enable Media Replace the fix is 4.0.0: builds <= 3.6.3 are affected, anything from 4.0.0 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 4.0.0, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

An attacker needs Administrator access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Enable Media Replace 4.0.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-2554https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/ea56f0a1-7359-4beb-aae6-e2a3757ec8cdhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-2554

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C