CVE-2016-6896
Description
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.
Predictions
Heuristic predictions, AS-IS, for prioritization only.
Mitigations
No mitigations published for this CVE yet.
The vendor-content worker queues fetches as references arrive (check back in a few minutes). Or — if you've already worked around this in production — publish your fix to the community-verified tier.
✚ Propose a mitigation on Community → Mitigations published via the community go through AI scoring + 2 human reviewers + 7-day silent objection window before landing here withsource_tier=community-verified.
Exploits
Public proof-of-concept code below. AS-IS, for defenders and authorised testing only.
Exploit-DB
WordPress Core 4.5.3 - Directory Traversal / Denial of Service
OS impact
| OS | Version | Status | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| debian | bookworm | fixed | 4.6.1+dfsg-1 |
| debian | bullseye | fixed | 4.6.1+dfsg-1 |
| debian | forky | fixed | 4.6.1+dfsg-1 |
| debian | sid | fixed | 4.6.1+dfsg-1 |
| debian | trixie | fixed | 4.6.1+dfsg-1 |
Application impact
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| wordpress | wordpress | 4.5.3 | |
References
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/08/20/1
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036683
- https://sumofpwn.nl/advisory/2016/path_traversal_vulnerability_in_wordpress_core_ajax_handlers.html
- https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/8606
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40288/
- https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-6896
CWEs
CWE-22
Community-verified mitigations for this CVE will appear above when contributors publish them.
Verify integrity in audit chain (admin only). AS-IS.