Posts in Page <= 1.2.4 - Authenticated Directory Traversal leading to Local File Inclusion
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.3.0
- Affected Plugin
- Posts in Page
- Affected Version
< 1.3.0- CVSS
- 8.1High
- Weakness type
- CWE-98 · Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
- CVE
CVE-2017-18585
At a glance
CVE-2017-18585 is a high-severity Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in the Posts in Page WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 1.3.0. It carries a CVSS score of 8.1 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account. The issue is fixed in version 1.3.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed February 2017.
Vulnerability Overview
The Posts in Page plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Directory Traversal in versions up to, and including, 1.2.4 via the [ic_add_posts template] shortcode. This allows contributor-level attackers 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.
CWE-98: Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
Reaching this weakness in Posts in Page < 1.3.0 takes any authenticated account. 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 Posts in Page the fix is 1.3.0: builds < 1.3.0 are affected, anything from 1.3.0 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.3.0, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Posts in Page: 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: Posts in Page 1.3.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
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