Path Traversal in WordPress
CVE-2016-6896
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.
Vulnerability class: Path Traversal (Directory Traversal)
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.1 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.381 (98.5th percentile), scored .
Moderate probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — watch for active exploitation reports. 99th percentile — 98.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.381 · newest: 0.381 · change: 0.000
Affected products
- WordPress — versions 4.5.3
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- www.securitytracker.com/id/1036683 (vdb-entry)
- www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40288/ (exploit)
- www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/08/20/1 (mailing-list, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
- sumofpwn.nl/advisory/2016/path_traversal_vulnerability_in_wordpress_core_ajax_h… (Technical Description, Exploit, Third Party Advisory)
- wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/8606
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2016-6896?
- CVE-2016-6896 is a high-severity vulnerability in WordPress, classified under Path Traversal. CVSS score: 7.1/10. Published 2017-01-18.
- How severe is CVE-2016-6896?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.1 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2016-6896 known to be exploited?
- 3 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.