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CVE-2023-2745: WordPress Core < 6.2.1 - Directory Traversal

• Severity: medium (CVSS 5.4 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 79.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: yes
• Published: 2023-05-17 · updated 2026-06-17
• Weakness: CWE-22

Description

WordPress Core is vulnerable to Directory Traversal in versions up to, and including, 6.2, via the ‘wp_lang’ parameter. This allows unauthenticated attackers to access and load arbitrary translation files. In cases where an attacker is able to upload a crafted translation file onto the site, such as via an upload form, this could be also used to perform a Cross-Site Scripting attack.

Affected products

• WordPress: before 4.1.38; from 4.2 before 4.2.35; from 4.3 before 4.3.31; from 4.4 before 4.4.30; from 4.5 before 4.5.29; from 4.6 before 4.6.26 — fixed in 4.1.38, 4.2.35, 4.3.31, 4.4.30, 4.5.29, 4.6.26

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: WordPress 4.1.38, 4.2.35, 4.3.31, 4.4.30. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

• https://core.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=55765%40%2F&new=55765%40%2F&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=
• https://wordpress.org/news/2023/05/wordpress-6-2-1-maintenance-security-release/
• https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2023/05/wordpress-core-6-2-1-security-maintenance-release-what-you-need-to-know/
• https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/edcf46b6-368e-49c0-b2c3-99bf6e2d358f?source=cve
• http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/172426/WordPress-Core-6.2-XSS-CSRF-Directory-Traversal.html
• https://core.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=55765%40%2F&new=55765%40%2F&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=
• https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/06/msg00024.html
• https://wordpress.org/news/2023/05/wordpress-6-2-1-maintenance-security-release/
• https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/52274
• https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/edcf46b6-368e-49c0-b2c3-99bf6e2d358f?source=cve

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