CVE-2023-2252
Path Traversal in Wpwax Directorist ≤ 7.5.4
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:NSummary
CVE-2023-2252 is a low-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Wpwax Directorist. Its CVSS base score is 2.7 (Low).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 31% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
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 Directorist WordPress plugin before version 7.5.4 is affected by a local file inclusion vulnerability (CWE-22) that arises because the file parameter is not validated when users import CSV files. The flaw is present in the plugin's directory-listing and import-handling components on WordPress installations.
An authenticated user with administrative privileges can supply an arbitrary file path via the import function and retrieve the contents of local files on the server. The attack is network-accessible and requires no user interaction, but the CVSS 2.7 score reflects that only confidentiality is impacted and high privileges are needed.
References published by WPScan identify the affected code path and indicate that the issue is resolved by updating to Directorist 7.5.4 or later.
The associated EPSS score has remained essentially flat near 0.10, showing no material post-disclosure increase in observed exploitation activity.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-33759
Vulnerability Data
The Directorist WordPress plugin before 7.5.4 is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion as it does not validate the file parameter when importing CSV files.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.
Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction occurs.
Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.
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.