CVE-2024-5709

WPBakery <= 7.7 - Authenticated (Author+) Local File Inclusion

2024-08-05 00:00
João Pedro Soares de Alcântara

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 7.8
Affected Plugin
WPBakery Page Builder
Affected Version
<= 7.7
CVSS
8.8High
Weakness type
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVE
CVE-2024-5709
View all WPBakery Page Builder vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2024-5709 is a high-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the WPBakery Page Builder WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 7.7. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Author level or above. The issue is fixed in version 7.8; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2024, reported by João Pedro Soares de Alcântara.

Vulnerability Overview

The WPBakery Visual Composer plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion in all versions up to, and including, 7.7 via the 'layout_name' parameter. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Author-level access and above, and with post permissions granted by an Administrator, 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 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')

WPBakery Page Builder <= 7.7 carries this weakness at layout_name, and reaching it takes an account at Author level or above. 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 WPBakery Page Builder the fix is 7.8: builds <= 7.7 are affected, anything from 7.8 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 7.8, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

An attacker needs Author access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: WPBakery Page Builder 7.8 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-5709https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/7fad30c8-fd8a-4cf2-a3aa-16a374231b87https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-5709

Related records

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