CVE-2025-2636

InstaWP Connect <= 0.1.0.85 - Unauthenticated Local PHP File Inclusion

2025-04-10 00:00
Chuck

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 0.1.0.86
Affected Plugin
InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration
Affected Version
<= 0.1.0.85
CVSS
8.1High
Weakness type
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVE
CVE-2025-2636
View all InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2025-2636 is a high-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the InstaWP Connect WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 0.1.0.85. It carries a CVSS score of 8.1 (reachable over the network; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 0.1.0.86; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed April 2025, reported by Chuck.

Vulnerability Overview

The InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion in all versions up to, and including, 0.1.0.85 via the 'instawp-database-manager' parameter. 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 php file types can be uploaded and included, or are already present on the filesystem locally. There are currently no known vulnerabilities in this plugin that make file upload possible, meaning this won't be exploitable to achieve remote code execution on most instances with just this plugin alone. Another vulnerability would need to be present on the site allowing arbitrary file upload in order to leverage this to achieve remote code execution.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, 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')

InstaWP Connect <= 0.1.0.85 carries this weakness at instawp-database-manager, 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 InstaWP Connect the fix is 0.1.0.86: builds <= 0.1.0.85 are affected, anything from 0.1.0.86 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 0.1.0.86, 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: InstaWP Connect 0.1.0.86 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-2025-2636https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/4c8f2c6f-c231-477c-895b-df892569ef95https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-2636

Related records

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