Summary
Cherry Plugin for WordPress contains a path traversal vulnerability in an unauthenticated file-download endpoint. An attacker may use crafted path input to access arbitrary files readable by the web server, potentially exposing database credentials and other sensitive configuration data.
Cherry Plugin for WordPress contains a path traversal vulnerability in an unauthenticated file-download endpoint. An attacker may use crafted path input to access arbitrary files readable by the web server, potentially exposing database credentials and other sensitive configuration data.
Affected context
The vulnerability occurs in deployments using Cherry Plugin versions with the affected import/export download functionality. Risk exists when the endpoint accepts attacker-controlled file paths and passes them to file-reading operations without reliably restricting access to an intended directory.
The vulnerability occurs in deployments using Cherry Plugin versions with the affected import/export download functionality. Risk exists when the endpoint accepts attacker-controlled file paths and passes them to file-reading operations without reliably restricting access to an intended directory.
Exploit preconditions
- Attack surface: Publicly reachable WordPress HTTP endpoint
- Required access: No authentication is generally required
- Trigger point: A request to the plugin's content-download functionality with attacker-controlled file input
- Why exploitation is possible: The supplied path is used in a file-reading operation without sufficient canonicalization and directory-boundary enforcement
- Attack surface: Publicly reachable WordPress HTTP endpoint
- Required access: No authentication is generally required
- Trigger point: A request to the plugin's content-download functionality with attacker-controlled file input
- Why exploitation is possible: The supplied path is used in a file-reading operation without sufficient canonicalization and directory-boundary enforcement
Why this happens
The underlying bug is improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, which maps to CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
The application treats externally supplied path data as trusted and passes it directly to a file access operation. Without canonicalizing the path and verifying that the resolved location remains within an approved base directory, traversal elements can cause access to files outside the intended content area.
The underlying bug is improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, which maps to CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
The application treats externally supplied path data as trusted and passes it directly to a file access operation. Without canonicalizing the path and verifying that the resolved location remains within an approved base directory, traversal elements can cause access to files outside the intended content area.
Potential impact
- An unauthenticated attacker may read sensitive application files
- Database credentials and WordPress configuration secrets could be exposed
- Session tokens, API keys, or private content could be disclosed
- Exposed credentials could enable follow-on compromise of the website or connected services
- The incident could support data theft, defacement, or lateral movement
- An unauthenticated attacker may read sensitive application files
- Database credentials and WordPress configuration secrets could be exposed
- Session tokens, API keys, or private content could be disclosed
- Exposed credentials could enable follow-on compromise of the website or connected services
- The incident could support data theft, defacement, or lateral movement
General mitigation guidance
Mitigation typically focuses on eliminating direct trust in user-supplied filesystem paths.
Common defensive patterns include:
- Map user-controlled identifiers to server-side file references instead of accepting raw paths
- Canonicalize paths before authorization checks
- Enforce that resolved paths remain within a fixed, approved directory
- Reject traversal sequences and unexpected path formats as an additional layer, not as the sole control
- Use allowlists for downloadable files and avoid exposing configuration or secret-bearing files
- Run the web application with the minimum filesystem permissions required
- Apply network and access controls around administrative or import/export functionality
Mitigation typically focuses on eliminating direct trust in user-supplied filesystem paths.
Common defensive patterns include:
- Map user-controlled identifiers to server-side file references instead of accepting raw paths
- Canonicalize paths before authorization checks
- Enforce that resolved paths remain within a fixed, approved directory
- Reject traversal sequences and unexpected path formats as an additional layer, not as the sole control
- Use allowlists for downloadable files and avoid exposing configuration or secret-bearing files
- Run the web application with the minimum filesystem permissions required
- Apply network and access controls around administrative or import/export functionality
How teams detect issues like this
Organizations commonly detect path traversal risks through:
- Static analysis for externally controlled values reaching file APIs such as
readfile, open, or equivalent operations - Code review checks for missing canonicalization and directory-boundary validation
- Dynamic testing with normalized, encoded, and platform-specific traversal variants
- Web application firewall or gateway policies that identify suspicious path components
- File-access monitoring for unexpected reads of configuration, credential, or system files
- Dependency and plugin inventory checks that identify vulnerable components
Automated security testing and code-review tools can help identify unsafe file path handling during development.
Organizations commonly detect path traversal risks through:
- Static analysis for externally controlled values reaching file APIs such as
readfile, open, or equivalent operations - Code review checks for missing canonicalization and directory-boundary validation
- Dynamic testing with normalized, encoded, and platform-specific traversal variants
- Web application firewall or gateway policies that identify suspicious path components
- File-access monitoring for unexpected reads of configuration, credential, or system files
- Dependency and plugin inventory checks that identify vulnerable components
Automated security testing and code-review tools can help identify unsafe file path handling during development.
