SEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO < 6.1.5 - Directory Traversal

2016-07-11 00:00
Panagiotis Vagenas

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 6.1.5
Affected Plugin
GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO
Affected Version
< 6.1.5
CVSS
7.5High
Weakness type
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVE
CVE pending
View all GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO vulnerabilities

At a glance

This record tracks a high-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 6.1.5. 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 6.1.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2016, reported by Panagiotis Vagenas.

Vulnerability Overview

The SEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Directory Traversal in versions up to 6.1.5 via the sq_size parameter. This allows unauthenticated attackers to read the contents of arbitrary files on the server, which can contain sensitive information.

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 GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO < 6.1.5 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 GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO the fix is 6.1.5: builds < 6.1.5 are affected, anything from 6.1.5 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 6.1.5, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO 6.1.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/1a46da16-2442-45cf-858f-0681b1106cc2

Related records

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