Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.6.1
- Affected Plugin
- Task Scheduler
- Affected Version
<= 1.6.0- CVSS
- 7.5High
- Weakness type
- CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
- CVE
CVE-2017-1000170
At a glance
CVE-2017-1000170 is a high-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the Task Scheduler WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.6.0. 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 1.6.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed May 2017, reported by ambulong.
Vulnerability Overview
Several WordPress plugins using the JqueryFileTree extension are vulnerable to Directory Traversal via the 'dir' parameter in various versions. 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')
Task Scheduler <= 1.6.0 carries this weakness at dir, and reaching it 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 Task Scheduler the fix is 1.6.1: builds <= 1.6.0 are affected, anything from 1.6.1 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.6.1, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Task Scheduler: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Task Scheduler 1.6.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Task Scheduler
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