CVE-2014-8491 in Flash-album-gallery
Summary
by MITRE
The Grand Flagallery plugin before 4.25 for WordPress allows remote attackers to obtain the installation path via a request to (1) flagallery-skins/banner_widget_default/gallery.php or (2) flash-album-gallery/skins/banner_widget_default/gallery.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/25/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-8491 affects the Grand Flagallery plugin version 4.24 and earlier for WordPress systems, representing a critical information disclosure flaw that exposes sensitive installation path details to remote attackers. This vulnerability specifically targets the plugin's handling of requests to two distinct file paths within the plugin's directory structure, namely flagallery-skins/banner_widget_default/gallery.php and flash-album-gallery/skins/banner_widget_default/gallery.php. The flaw enables unauthorized parties to extract the absolute file system path where the WordPress installation resides, potentially compromising the overall security posture of the affected system.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation and output handling within the Grand Flagallery plugin's gallery rendering functionality. When remote attackers make requests to the specified endpoints, the plugin fails to properly sanitize or restrict access to internal system information. This results in the disclosure of the complete installation path, which typically includes the full directory structure leading to the WordPress root directory. Such path disclosure can provide attackers with crucial information about the server environment, including directory names, file structures, and potentially even the operating system type and version details.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the exposed installation paths can serve as foundational intelligence for more sophisticated attacks. Attackers can leverage this information to craft targeted exploits that take advantage of known vulnerabilities in specific directory structures or file permissions. The disclosure of the absolute path can also aid in bypassing certain security controls that rely on path-based assumptions, potentially enabling directory traversal attacks or other privilege escalation techniques. Additionally, this information can be used for reconnaissance purposes to map the server environment and identify other potential attack vectors within the broader system architecture.
Security practitioners should consider this vulnerability in the context of the Common Weakness Enumeration framework, where it aligns with CWE-200, Information Exposure, and potentially CWE-502, Deserialization of Untrusted Data, depending on the specific implementation details. From the MITRE ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to the T1083 - File and Directory Discovery technique, as it enables adversaries to gather information about the file system structure. The vulnerability also relates to T1213 - Data from Information Repositories, as it provides attackers with system-level information that could be used for further exploitation. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to Grand Flagallery plugin version 4.25 or later, implementing web application firewalls to block access to the vulnerable endpoints, and conducting comprehensive security audits to identify any other potentially exposed system information.
The remediation strategy for this vulnerability involves several key steps that should be implemented promptly by system administrators. The primary and most effective mitigation is upgrading the Grand Flagallery plugin to version 4.25 or higher, which includes proper input validation and output sanitization mechanisms that prevent the disclosure of installation paths. Additionally, administrators should consider implementing restrictive access controls that limit access to plugin-specific endpoints, particularly those that render gallery content. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls can provide additional defense-in-depth by blocking requests to the vulnerable paths. Regular security monitoring should be implemented to detect any attempts to exploit this vulnerability, and system logs should be reviewed for any suspicious activity related to these specific file paths. Organizations should also conduct periodic vulnerability assessments to identify similar information disclosure issues within their WordPress installations and other web applications that might expose similar system-level information to unauthorized users.