Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.2.4
- Affected Plugin
- TrueRanker
- Affected Version
<= 2.2.2- CVSS
- 7.5High
- Weakness type
- CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
- CVE
CVE-2021-39312
At a glance
CVE-2021-39312 is a high-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the TrueRanker WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.2.2. 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 2.2.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2021, reported by p7e4.
Vulnerability Overview
The True Ranker plugin <= 2.2.2 for WordPress allows arbitrary files, including sensitive configuration files such as wp-config.php, to be accessed via the src parameter found in the ~/admin/vendor/datatables/examples/resources/examples.php file.
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-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Reaching this weakness in TrueRanker <= 2.2.2 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. 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 TrueRanker the fix is 2.2.4: builds <= 2.2.2 are affected, anything from 2.2.4 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.2.4, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to TrueRanker: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: TrueRanker 2.2.4 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in TrueRanker
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C