Directory traversal and XSS in WordPress

Published: 2016-09-07

Risk	Medium
Patch available	YES
Number of vulnerabilities	2
CVE-ID	CVE-2016-7169 CVE-2016-7168
CWE-ID	CWE-22 CWE-79
Exploitation vector	Network
Public exploit	N/A
Vulnerable software Subscribe	WordPress Web applications / CMS
Vendor	WordPress.ORG

Security Bulletin

This security bulletin contains information about 2 vulnerabilities.

1) Directory traversal in upgrade package uploader

EUVDB-ID: #VU369

Risk: Medium

CVSSv3.1: 6.3 [CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2016-7169

CWE-ID: CWE-22 - Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to compromise vulnerable system.

The vulnerability exists due to insufficient sanitization of input data within the upgrade package uploader. A remote authenticated user can use directory traversal sequences to write files outside the webroot directory.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may lead to website compromise.

Mitigation

Update your WordPress installation to one of the following versions:

3.7.x - 3.7.16
3.8.x - 3.8.16
3.9.x - 3.9.14
4.0.x - 4.0.13
4.1.x - 4.1.13
4.2.x - 4.2.10
4.3.x - 4.3.6
4.4.x - 4.4.5
4.5.x - 4.5.4
4.6.x - 4.6.1

Vulnerable software versions

WordPress: 3.7.1 - 4.6

External links

http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_3.7.16
http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_3.8.16
http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_3.9.14
http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.0.13
http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.1.13
http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.2.10
http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.3.6
http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.4.5
http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.5.4
http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.6.1

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote authenticated privileged user via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.

2) Cross-site scripting in /wp-admin/includes/media.php script

EUVDB-ID: #VU368

Risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 5.3 [CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2016-7168

CWE-ID: CWE-79 - Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

Exploit availability: No

Description

The disclosed vulnerability allows a remote attacker to perform cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.

The vulnerability is caused by incorrect filtration of input data passed via image filename in /wp-admin/includes/media.php script. A remote attacker can trick the victim to follow a specially crafted link and execute arbitrary HTML and script code in website administrator’s browser in security context of vulnerable website.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may allow a remote attacker to steal potentially sensitive information, change appearance of the web page, perform phishing and drive-by-download attacks.

Mitigation

Vulnerable software versions

WordPress: 3.7.1 - 4.6

External links

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.