Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.5.1
- Affected Plugin
- Zip Attachments
- Affected Version
<= 1.5- CVSS
- 8.6High
- Weakness type
- CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
- CVE
CVE-2015-4694
At a glance
CVE-2015-4694 is a high-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the Zip Attachments WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.5. It carries a CVSS score of 8.6 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 1.5.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2015, reported by Larry W. Cashdollar.
Vulnerability Overview
Directory traversal vulnerability in download.php in the Zip Attachments plugin before 1.5.1 for WordPress allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via a .. (dot dot) in the za_file parameter.
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 Zip Attachments <= 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 Zip Attachments the fix is 1.5.1: builds <= 1.5 are affected, anything from 1.5.1 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.5.1, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Zip Attachments: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Zip Attachments 1.5.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Zip Attachments
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