CVE-2023-6623

Essential Blocks <= 4.4.2 - Unauthenticated Local File Inclusion

2023-12-21 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 4.4.3
Affected Plugin: Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns
Affected Version: <= 4.4.2
CVSS: 9.8Critical
Weakness type: CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVE: CVE-2023-6623

View all Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-6623 is a critical-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the Gutenberg Essential Blocks WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 4.4.2. 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 4.4.3; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2023, reported by Marc-Alexandre Montpas.

Vulnerability Overview

The Essential Blocks – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks, Patterns & Templates plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion in all versions up to, and including, 4.4.2 via the /wp-json/essential-blocks/v1/queries REST API endpoint. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to include and execute arbitrary files on the server, allowing the execution of any PHP code in those files. This can be used to bypass access controls, obtain sensitive data, or achieve code execution in cases where images and other “safe” file types can be uploaded and included.

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

Gutenberg Essential Blocks <= 4.4.2 carries this weakness at safe, and reaching it 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 Gutenberg Essential Blocks the fix is 4.4.3: builds <= 4.4.2 are affected, anything from 4.4.3 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 4.4.3, 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: Gutenberg Essential Blocks 4.4.3 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-6623 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/c52435f3-cc1c-4d3a-a664-a07e60fad6ae https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-6623

Related records

Other vulnerabilities in Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns

CVSS Vector

9.8

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh

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