CVE-2023-1478

Hummingbird <= 3.4.1 - Unauthenticated Path Traversal

2023-03-20 00:00
Karol Mazurek (AFINE)

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.4.2
Affected Plugin
Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN
Affected Version
<= 3.4.1
CVSS
5.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVE
CVE-2023-1478
View all Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-1478 is a medium-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the Hummingbird Performance WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.4.1. It carries a CVSS score of 5.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 3.4.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2023, reported by Karol Mazurek (AFINE).

Vulnerability Overview

The Hummingbird plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Path Traversal in versions up to, and including, 3.4.1 via the page cache module, which doesn't validate file paths prior to saving them. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to enumerate file directories, crash to server by sending cache files to an arbitrary location, and write cache files to arbitrary locations that may deny access to some resources.

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

Reaching this weakness in Hummingbird Performance <= 3.4.1 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 Hummingbird Performance the fix is 3.4.2: builds <= 3.4.1 are affected, anything from 3.4.2 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.4.2, 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: Hummingbird Performance 3.4.2 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-2023-1478https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/d9b8e6dc-a9ac-4afb-ad47-4f51032bb1f4https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-1478

Related records

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