CVE-2022-38140

SEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO <= 12.1.10 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Arbitrary File Upload

2022-10-25 00:00
Rafie Muhammad

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 12.1.11
Affected Plugin
GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO
Affected Version
<= 12.1.10
CVSS
8.8High
Weakness type
CWE-434 · Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type
CVE
CVE-2022-38140
View all GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2022-38140 is a high-severity Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type vulnerability in the GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 12.1.10. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Contributor level or above. The issue is fixed in version 12.1.11; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2022, reported by Rafie Muhammad.

Vulnerability Overview

The SEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file uploads in versions up to, and including, 12.1.10. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor level permissions and above, to upload arbitrary files on the affected sites server which may make remote code execution possible.

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, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-434: Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type

Reaching this weakness in GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO <= 12.1.10 takes an account at Contributor level or above. 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 GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO the fix is 12.1.11: builds <= 12.1.10 are affected, anything from 12.1.11 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 12.1.11, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

An attacker needs Contributor 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. 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: GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO 12.1.11 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Scanner
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-38140https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/a4e7f51c-5f44-4d01-8865-9d86067374echttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-38140

Related records

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