CVE-2024-44018 in Instant Chat Floating Button for WordPress Websites Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/05/2024
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in istmoplugins Instant Chat Floating Button for WordPress Websites instant-chat-wp allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Instant Chat Floating Button for WordPress Websites: from n/a through <= 1.0.5.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/05/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-44018 represents a critical path traversal flaw within the istmoplugins Instant Chat Floating Button WordPress plugin, specifically impacting versions through 1.0.5. This weakness falls under the broader category of improper limitation of pathname to restricted directories, a well-documented security concern that enables attackers to access files outside the intended directory structure. The vulnerability manifests through PHP local file inclusion mechanisms, creating an avenue for unauthorized file access and potential system compromise.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the plugin's file handling routines. When the plugin processes user-supplied parameters or file paths, it fails to properly restrict or validate the input against a safe directory whitelist. This allows malicious actors to manipulate file path parameters and navigate to arbitrary locations within the WordPress installation directory structure. The flaw specifically affects how the plugin handles file inclusion operations, enabling attackers to specify file paths that bypass normal access controls and potentially retrieve sensitive files such as configuration databases, user credentials, or other system files.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to WordPress website security and integrity. Attackers can leverage this weakness to access sensitive information, potentially leading to full system compromise through the retrieval of database credentials, wp-config.php files, or other critical system files. The vulnerability also enables potential code execution scenarios when combined with other attack vectors, as the ability to read arbitrary files often serves as a stepping stone to more severe exploits. Given that this affects a widely used WordPress plugin, the potential attack surface is substantial, with numerous websites potentially exposed to this vulnerability.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of CWE-22, which specifically addresses improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, and its relationship to the broader ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation and credential access techniques. The vulnerability directly maps to techniques involving file system traversal and local file inclusion attacks, which are commonly employed in web application penetration testing and exploit development. Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies including plugin version updates, input validation hardening, and directory access restrictions to prevent exploitation attempts. Additionally, monitoring for suspicious file access patterns and implementing web application firewalls can provide additional layers of defense against potential exploitation attempts targeting this specific path traversal vulnerability.