Overview
The CVE-2025-48158 is a significant security vulnerability that affects the BuddyPress XProfile Custom Image Field, an extension of the popular WordPress plugin, BuddyPress. This vulnerability has been categorized as an “Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory” or more commonly known as ‘Path Traversal’. This issue is severe as it opens the door for potential system compromises or data leaks, posing a serious threat to the integrity of the affected systems.
The vulnerability has been rated with a CVSS Severity Score of 8.6, indicating its high risk. It is crucial for system administrators, IT managers, or anyone responsible for security on a WordPress site using this plugin to understand the severity and potential impact of this security flaw.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-48158
Severity: High, CVSS Score: 8.6
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
BuddyPress XProfile Custom Image Field | n/a through 3.0.1
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability arises from the improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory. This means that an attacker can manipulate variables that reference files with “dot-dot-slash (../)” sequences and its variations such as encoded nulls. By doing so, they can access arbitrary files and directories stored on the system outside of the intended directory, hence the term ‘Path Traversal’.
An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a specially crafted request to the application, causing the server to return a file or execute a script that resides outside of the intended directory. This could allow the attacker to read sensitive information, alter system configuration, or even execute arbitrary code depending on the permissions of the server.
Conceptual Example Code
Here’s a conceptual example of how an attacker might exploit the vulnerability. The attacker sends a malicious HTTP POST request, which includes a malicious payload that manipulates the pathname variable.
POST /upload/endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: multipart/form-data
--boundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="userfile"; filename="../../../../etc/passwd"
Content-Type: text/plain
... malicious file content ...
--boundary--The `filename` contains a pathname traversal sequence (`../../../../etc/passwd`). If the application doesn’t properly sanitize this input, it could lead to an attacker accessing sensitive files like `/etc/passwd` in this case.
Mitigation
To mitigate this vulnerability, the best course of action is to apply the vendor’s patch. Until the patch can be applied, a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can be used as a temporary measure to detect and block attempts to exploit this vulnerability. It is also recommended to monitor system logs for any suspicious activity.
Always remember, staying updated with the latest versions and patches is a key practice in maintaining a secure environment.
