CVE-2018-25019

LearnDash LMS <= 2.5.3 - Arbitrary File Upload

2018-01-06 00:00
Jerome Bruandet

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.5.4
Affected Plugin
LearnDash LMS
Affected Version
< 2.5.4
CVSS
7.5High
Weakness type
CWE-434 · Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type
CVE
CVE-2018-25019
View all LearnDash LMS vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2018-25019 is a high-severity Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type vulnerability in the LearnDash LMS WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 2.5.4. It carries a CVSS score of 7.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high integrity impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.5.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2018, reported by Jerome Bruandet.

Vulnerability Overview

The LearnDash LMS WordPress plugin before 2.5.4 does not have any authorisation and validation of the file to be uploaded in the learndash_assignment_process_init() function, which could allow unauthenticated users to upload arbitrary files to the web server

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 integrity.

CWE-434: Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type

LearnDash LMS < 2.5.4 carries this weakness at learndash_assignment_process_init(), and reaching it takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. An unrestricted file upload lets a caller store a file whose type or destination the application does not properly constrain.

If an uploaded file lands anywhere the server will execute, the flaw becomes remote code execution and the site should be treated as fully compromised. For LearnDash LMS the fix is 2.5.4: builds < 2.5.4 are affected, anything from 2.5.4 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.5.4, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to LearnDash LMS: 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: LearnDash LMS 2.5.4 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Scanner
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-25019https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/9d4f47af-294a-4c3a-accd-9ae674916a38https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-25019

Related records

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