CVE-2022-4031

Simple:Press <= 6.8 - Authenticated (Admin+) Path Traversal to Arbitrary File Modification

2022-11-29 00:00
Luca Greeb

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 6.8.1
Affected Plugin
Simple:Press Forum
Affected Version
<= 6.8
CVSS
3.8Low
Weakness type
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVE
CVE-2022-4031
View all Simple:Press Forum vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2022-4031 is a low-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the Simple:Press Forum WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 6.8. It carries a CVSS score of 3.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Admin level or above. The issue is fixed in version 6.8.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2022, reported by Luca Greeb.

Vulnerability Overview

The Simple:Press plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file modifications in versions up to, and including, 6.8 via the 'file' parameter which does not properly restrict files to be edited in the context of the plugin. This makes it possible with attackers, with high-level permissions such as an administrator, to supply paths to arbitrary files on the server that can be modified outside of the intended scope of the plugin.

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.

CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

Simple:Press Forum <= 6.8 carries this weakness at file, and reaching it takes an account at Admin 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 Simple:Press Forum the fix is 6.8.1: builds <= 6.8 are affected, anything from 6.8.1 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 6.8.1, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

An attacker needs Admin 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: Simple:Press Forum 6.8.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-4031https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/1ead1a18-9429-472e-9e88-e792eaa23ae9https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-4031

Related records

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