CVE-2023-37888: Improper Limitation of Pathname Entry Leads to Directory Vulnerability in By Averta Shortcodes and Extra Features for Phlox Theme, Allowing PHP Local File Inclusion

A recent vulnerability has been discovered (CVE-2023-37888), which exposes a significant security risk in the 'By Averta Shortcodes and Extra Features for Phlox Theme' plugin for WordPress-based websites. This vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate the path of a file to gain unauthorized access to restricted directories outside the targeted one. As a result, the exploit poses a threat not only to the website's data but also the server's security.

Discovered Vulnerability

The vulnerability, classified as an Improper Limitation of Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal'), affects the popular Phlox Theme plugin "Shortcodes and Extra Features for Phlox Theme." This vulnerability specifically affects versions n/a through 2.14. of the plugin.

How the Vulnerability Works

Typically, Path Traversal vulnerabilities occur when a user submits unverified input to a web application, such as a file path or a URL. If improperly sanitized, this input can be exploited by an attacker to access restricted directories or execute malicious code.

The code snippet below demonstrates the vulnerability in the affected plugin

<?php
    // Example of vulnerable code in the
    // Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme plugin.
    $file = $_GET['file'];
    $content = file_get_contents('restricted_directory/' . $file);
    echo $content;
?>

In this example, the plugin permits the user to receive the contents of a file specified by the 'file' GET parameter without verifying or sanitizing the input. An attacker can, therefore, exploit this issue by providing a malicious path parameter through the 'file' GET parameter.

`

http://example.com/vulnerable_page.php?file=../../../../etc/passwd

`

2. The web application processes the request and returns the contents of the /etc/passwd file, granting the attacker unauthorized access to sensitive information.

To mitigate this vulnerability, developers are advised to do the following

- Update their installations of the 'Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme' plugin to the latest version (2.14.1 or higher).
- Alternatively, developers can implement proper input validation and sanitization to ensure that file paths submitted by users are within the expected directory.

An example of a secure code snippet is provided below

<?php
    // Example of secure code in the
    // Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme plugin.
    $file = $_GET['file'];
    $sanitized_file = basename($file);
    $content = file_get_contents('restricted_directory/' . $sanitized_file);
    echo $content;
?>

In this secure example, the basename() function is used to sanitize the user input and prevent unauthorized path traversal.

- Please refer to the official CVE site for more information

- https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-37888

- The National Vulnerability Database provides a detailed description of the vulnerability

- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-37888

Timeline

Published on: 05/17/2024 07:15:57 UTC
Last modified on: 05/17/2024 18:36:05 UTC