CVE-2024-5481: 
WordPress vulnerability analysis and mitigation

The Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery plugin for WordPress contains a Path Traversal vulnerability (CVE-2024-5481) affecting all versions up to and including 1.8.23. The vulnerability was discovered in the esc_dir function and was patched in version 1.8.24 (NVD).

The vulnerability is classified as a Path Traversal (CWE-22) issue with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 HIGH (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) according to NVD, while Wordfence rates it as 6.8 MEDIUM (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H). The vulnerability exists in the esc_dir function implementation, which fails to properly restrict directory traversal attempts (NVD).

The vulnerability allows authenticated attackers to copy the contents of arbitrary files on the server, which may contain sensitive information. Additionally, attackers can delete arbitrary directories, including the root WordPress directory. While by default this can only be exploited by administrators, in the premium version of the plugin, administrators can grant gallery edit permissions to lower-level users, potentially making this exploitable by users with contributor-level access (NVD).

The vulnerability requires authentication and can be exploited by users with appropriate permissions. By default, only administrators can exploit this vulnerability, but in the premium version, the attack surface could extend to lower-privileged users if they are granted gallery edit permissions (NVD).

The vulnerability has been patched in version 1.8.24 of the Photo Gallery plugin. Users are strongly advised to update to this version or later to protect against potential exploitation (NVD).