Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.0.9
- Affected Plugin
- IMDB Profile Widget
- Affected Version
< 1.0.9- CVSS
- 7.5High
- Weakness type
- CWE-98 · Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
- CVE
CVE-2016-10991
At a glance
CVE-2016-10991 is a high-severity Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in the IMDB Profile Widget WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 1.0.9. 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 1.0.9; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2016, reported by CrashBandicot.
Vulnerability Overview
The IMDB Profile Widget plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion in versions up to 1.0.9 via the 'url' parameter found in the 'pic' file. 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.
CWE-98: Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
IMDB Profile Widget < 1.0.9 carries this weakness at url, 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 IMDB Profile Widget the fix is 1.0.9: builds < 1.0.9 are affected, anything from 1.0.9 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.0.9, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to IMDB Profile Widget: 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: IMDB Profile Widget 1.0.9 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Related records
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