CVE-2022-4030

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

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
8.1High
Weakness type
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVE
CVE-2022-4030
View all Simple:Press Forum vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2022-4030 is a high-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 8.1 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber 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 Path Traversal in versions up to, and including, 6.8 via the 'file' parameter which can be manipulated during user avatar deletion. This makes it possible with attackers, with minimal permissions such as a subscriber, to supply paths to arbitrary files on the server that will subsequently be deleted. This can be used to delete the wp-config.php file that can allow an attacker to configure the site and achieve remote code execution.

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 integrity, availability.

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 Subscriber 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 Subscriber 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-2022-4030https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/43bcf3ab-4201-4a61-82c5-2dc60b684989https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-4030

Related records

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