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Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type

CVE-2018-14028

High
7.2/10

Summary

In WordPress 4.9.7, plugins uploaded via the admin area are not verified as being ZIP files. This allows for PHP files to be uploaded. Once a PHP file is uploaded, the plugin extraction fails, but the PHP file remains in a predictable wp-content/uploads location, allowing for an attacker to then execute the file. This represents a security risk in limited scenarios where an attacker (who does have the required capabilities for plugin uploads) cannot simply place arbitrary PHP code into a valid plugin ZIP file and upload that plugin, because a machine's wp-content/plugins directory permissions were set up to block all new plugins.

  • LOW
  • NETWORK
  • HIGH
  • UNCHANGED
  • NONE
  • HIGH
  • HIGH
  • HIGH

CWE-434 - Unrestricted Upload of File with dangerous type

'Unrestricted file upload with dangerous type' attacks involve an attacker uploading or transferring files of dangerous types to the server. The severity of such an attack depends upon the execution mechanism and the storage location of the uploaded file. Thus, it may range from simple defacement to arbitrary file execution, and complete system takeover.

References

Advisory Timeline

  • Published