CVE-2020-11738
Path Traversal in Awesomemotive Duplicator ≤ 1.3.28
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:NSummary
CVE-2020-11738 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Awesomemotive Duplicator. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 0.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
The vulnerability is a path traversal flaw, tracked as CWE-22, that affects the Snap Creek Duplicator plugin for WordPress prior to version 1.3.28 and Duplicator Pro prior to 3.8.7.1. Untrusted input supplied in the file parameter to the duplicator_download or duplicator_init actions is not properly sanitized, allowing sequences such as "../" to escape the intended directory.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue over the network with low complexity to read arbitrary files on the underlying server, resulting in disclosure of sensitive configuration data, credentials, or other hosted content. The CVSS 3.1 score of 7.5 reflects the absence of required privileges or user interaction and the high confidentiality impact.
Vendor advisories and the official changelog recommend immediate upgrade to Duplicator 1.3.28 or Duplicator Pro 3.8.7.1. Public exploit code has been released on PacketStorm, and Wordfence has documented active exploitation campaigns targeting more than one million sites that had not yet applied the patch.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2020-4080
Vulnerability Data
The Snap Creek Duplicator plugin before 1.3.28 for WordPress (and Duplicator Pro before 3.8.7.1) allows Directory Traversal via ../ in the file parameter to duplicator_download or duplicator_init.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 03 November 2021
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.3.2
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.
PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.
Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.
Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.
Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.