CVE-2023-51401 in Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 05/17/2024
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Brainstorm Force Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder allows Relative Path Traversal.This issue affects Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder: from n/a through 1.35.13.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/13/2025
The CVE-2023-51401 vulnerability represents a critical path traversal flaw within the Brainstorm Force Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder plugin, specifically impacting versions ranging from the initial release through 1.35.13. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-22 category, which classifies improper limitation of pathname to a restricted directory as a fundamental security weakness that enables attackers to access files outside the intended directory structure. The issue manifests as a relative path traversal vulnerability that allows malicious actors to manipulate file paths and potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive system resources.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when the plugin fails to properly validate and sanitize user-supplied input that is used in file path construction operations. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious requests that include directory traversal sequences such as '../' or similar patterns, which when processed by the vulnerable plugin, can lead to unauthorized file access, modification, or even execution. The vulnerability specifically affects the plugin's handling of file operations within the Beaver Builder environment, where user input is not adequately filtered before being used in filesystem operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it can potentially enable attackers to escalate privileges and compromise the entire WordPress installation. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could access configuration files, database credentials, user information, or even upload malicious files to the server. The attack surface is particularly concerning because Beaver Builder is a popular page builder plugin with widespread adoption, making this vulnerability attractive to threat actors seeking to compromise multiple websites simultaneously. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers legitimate credentials and the abuse of application-specific privileges.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-51401 should prioritize immediate patching of the affected plugin to version 1.35.14 or later, as this represents the official fix for the path traversal vulnerability. Organizations should also implement additional protective measures including input validation at multiple layers, implementing proper file access controls, and monitoring for suspicious file operations within the WordPress environment. Network segmentation and web application firewalls can provide additional defense-in-depth measures to detect and block malicious path traversal attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input sanitization and access control mechanisms in web applications, particularly those that handle user-provided data in filesystem operations. Security teams should also conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of other plugins and themes to identify similar path traversal vulnerabilities that may exist within their WordPress installations.