Ad InserterWordPress extension · Ad Inserter Project
CVE-2019-15323
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe ad-inserter plugin before 2.4.20 for WordPress has path traversal.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceThe Ad Inserter WordPress plugin before version 2.4.20 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows attackers to access files outside the web root directory. This type of vulnerability typically exploits insufficient input validation on file path parameters, enabling reading of sensitive system files.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Ad InserterWordPress extension
< 2.4.20CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate the Ad Inserter plugin installationCheck the WordPress plugins directory at wp-content/plugins/ad-inserter/ for the plugin folderAffected if The ad-inserter folder exists in the plugins directory
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Identify the installed Ad Inserter versionOpen the main plugin file (typically ad-inserter.php) and locate the version string in the plugin header comment, or check the readme.txt file for the Version fieldAffected if The version number found is less than 2.4.20 or no version is displayed (plugin may be very old)
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Verify if the plugin is activeIn the WordPress admin dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins and check the status of Ad Inserter, or query the wp_options table for option_name 'active_plugins'Affected if Ad Inserter appears in the list of active plugins
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Check for recent unauthorized file access attemptsReview web server access and error logs for unusual requests containing '../' sequences or direct file path references to system files (e.g., /etc/passwd, wp-config.php) targeting Ad Inserter endpointsAffected if Suspicious path traversal patterns appear in logs referring to Ad Inserter URLs
You are affected if Ad Inserter plugin is installed, active, and the version is below 2.4.20, or if logs show path traversal attempts targeting the plugin.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data2.4.20
Update the Ad Inserter plugin to version 2.4.20 or later to remediate the path traversal vulnerability. Additionally, restrict file system permissions and ensure web servers run with minimal required privileges.
Fix this in Ad Inserter
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-15323 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-15323 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data