Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.3
- Affected Plugin
- GD bbPress Attachments
- Affected Version
< 2.3- CVSS
- 7.2High
- Weakness type
- CWE-98 · Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
- CVE
CVE-2015-5482
At a glance
CVE-2015-5482 is a high-severity Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in the GD bbPress Attachments WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 2.3. It carries a CVSS score of 7.2 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). The issue is fixed in version 2.3; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2015, reported by Mallory Adams.
Vulnerability Overview
Directory traversal vulnerability in the GD bbPress Attachments plugin before 2.3 for WordPress allows remote administrators to include and execute arbitrary local files via a .. (dot dot) in the tab parameter in the gdbbpress_attachments page to wp-admin/edit.php.
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 confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-98: Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
Reaching this weakness in GD bbPress Attachments < 2.3 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. PHP file inclusion means a path used by include or require is built from request data, so the file that gets executed is under the caller's influence.
Including an attacker-influenced file executes its contents, which is why this class is routinely chained with an upload or log-poisoning step to reach code execution. For GD bbPress Attachments the fix is 2.3: builds < 2.3 are affected, anything from 2.3 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.3, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to GD bbPress Attachments: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. Classes like this one can leave something behind, so the staged malware scanner is the second half: it looks for dropped files and modified code rather than for the request that created them. None of that substitutes for the fix: GD bbPress Attachments 2.3 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in GD bbPress Attachments
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