CVE-2023-6846

File Manager Pro <= 8.3.4 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary File Upload

2024-01-24 00:00
Tobias Weißhaar (kun_19)

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 8.3.5
Affected Plugin
File Manager Pro
Affected Version
<= 8.3.4
CVSS
8.8High
Weakness type
CWE-94 · Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
CVE
CVE-2023-6846
View all File Manager Pro vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-6846 is a high-severity Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') vulnerability in the File Manager Pro WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 8.3.4. 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 Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 8.3.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2024, reported by Tobias Weißhaar (kun_19).

Vulnerability Overview

The File Manager Pro plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Upload in all versions up to, and including, 8.3.4 via the mk_check_filemanager_php_syntax AJAX function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber access and above, to execute code on the server. Version 8.3.5 introduces a capability check that prevents users lower than admin from executing this function.

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-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')

Reaching this weakness in File Manager Pro <= 8.3.4 takes an account at Subscriber level or above. Code injection means input from a request reaches a language construct that evaluates code, so the attacker's text is executed rather than treated as data.

The injected code runs with the web server's privileges, giving the attacker the same access to the database and filesystem as WordPress itself. For File Manager Pro the fix is 8.3.5: builds <= 8.3.4 are affected, anything from 8.3.5 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 8.3.5, 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. 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: File Manager Pro 8.3.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Scanner
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-6846https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/1e8e0257-a745-495f-a103-c032b95209fchttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-6846

Related records

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