Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.9
- Affected Plugin
- Images to WebP
- Affected Version
<= 1.8- CVSS
- 7.5High
- Weakness type
- CWE-98 · Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
- CVE
CVE-2021-24644
At a glance
CVE-2021-24644 is a high-severity Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in the Images to WebP WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.8. It carries a CVSS score of 7.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 1.9; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2021, reported by apple502j.
Vulnerability Overview
The Images to WebP WordPress plugin before 1.9 does not validate or sanitise the tab parameter before passing it to the include() function, which could lead to a Local File Inclusion issue
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.
CWE-98: Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
Images to WebP <= 1.8 carries this weakness at include(), and reaching it 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 Images to WebP the fix is 1.9: builds <= 1.8 are affected, anything from 1.9 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.9, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Images to WebP: 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: Images to WebP 1.9 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Images to WebP
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