Frontend File Manager Plugin <= 22.5 - Authenticated (Editor+) Directory Traversal
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 22.6
- Affected Plugin
- Frontend File Manager Plugin
- Affected Version
<= 22.5- CVSS
- 9.1Critical
- Weakness type
- CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
- CVE
CVE-2023-5105
At a glance
CVE-2023-5105 is a critical-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the Frontend File Manager Plugin WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 22.5. It carries a CVSS score of 9.1 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Editor level or above. The issue is fixed in version 22.6; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2023, reported by Dmitrii Ignatyev.
Vulnerability Overview
The Frontend File Manager Plugin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Directory Traversal in all versions up to, and including, 22.5. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with editor access and above, to read the contents of arbitrary files on the server, which can contain sensitive information.
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')
Reaching this weakness in Frontend File Manager Plugin <= 22.5 takes an account at Editor 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 Frontend File Manager Plugin the fix is 22.6: builds <= 22.5 are affected, anything from 22.6 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 22.6, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Editor 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: Frontend File Manager Plugin 22.6 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Same weakness class
Other vulnerabilities in Frontend File Manager Plugin
- 9.9CVE-2021-4368: Frontend File Manager Settings Change
CVE-2021-4368 - 9.8CVE-2016-15042: Frontend File Manager & N-Media Post Front-end Form <
CVE-2016-15042 - 9.8Frontend File Manager <= 3.7 Arbitrary File Upload
- 9.0CVE-2021-4356: Frontend File Manager <= 18.2 Arbitrary File Download
CVE-2021-4356 - 8.8CVE-2022-3126: Frontend File Manager Plugin CSRF to File Upload
CVE-2022-3126 - 8.8CVE-2022-3125: Frontend File Manager <= 21.2 Arbitrary File Upload
CVE-2022-3125 - 8.8Frontend File Manager <= 21.3 CSRF to Plugin Settings Update
- 8.8CVE-2014-5324: Frontend File Manager Plugin Arbitrary File Upload
CVE-2014-5324
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