Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.1
- Affected Plugin
- wp-publications
- Affected Version
<= 0.0- CVSS
- 8.3High
- Weakness type
- CWE-98 · Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
- CVE
CVE-2021-38360
At a glance
CVE-2021-38360 is a high-severity Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in the wp-publications WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 0.0. It carries a CVSS score of 8.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 1.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2021, reported by p7e4.
Vulnerability Overview
The wp-publications WordPress plugin is vulnerable to restrictive local file inclusion via the Q_FILE parameter found in the ~/bibtexbrowser.php file which allows attackers to include local zip files and achieve remote code execution, in versions up to and including 0.0.
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.
CWE-98: Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
Reaching this weakness in wp-publications <= 0.0 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. PHP file inclusion means a path used by include or require is built from request data, so the file that gets executed is under the caller's influence.
Including an attacker-influenced file executes its contents, which is why this class is routinely chained with an upload or log-poisoning step to reach code execution. For wp-publications the fix is 1.1: builds <= 0.0 are affected, anything from 1.1 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.1, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to wp-publications: 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: wp-publications 1.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in wp-publications
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