Directory traversal vulnerability in the wp_ajax_update_plugin function in wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php in WordPress 4.5.3 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service or read certain text files via a .. (dot dot) in the plugin parameter to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php, as demonstrated by /dev/random read operations that deplete the entropy pool.
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.
| Link | Tags |
|---|---|
| http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036683 | vdb entry |
| https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40288/ | exploit |
| http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/08/20/1 | third party advisory mailing list |
| https://sumofpwn.nl/advisory/2016/path_traversal_vulnerability_in_wordpress_core_ajax_handlers.html | exploit third party advisory technical description |
| https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/8606 |