dbcve.org
Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 3 May 2022.
DuplicatorWordPress extension · Awesomemotive

CVE-2020-11738

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.3.28 / 3.8.7.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
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.

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 · high confidence

The Duplicator WordPress plugin fails to properly validate the file parameter in duplicator_download and duplicator_init endpoints, allowing attackers to use directory traversal sequences (../) to access arbitrary files outside the intended web root directory. This enables unauthenticated attackers to read sensitive files on the server.

MitigationUpgrade to Duplicator plugin version 1.3.28 or later (or Duplicator Pro 3.8.7.1 or later). If patching is not immediately possible, consider restricting access to the vulnerable endpoints via web server configuration.

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
DuplicatorWordPress extension
Affected:< 1.3.28< 3.8.7.1

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Duplicator plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Duplicator' or 'Duplicator Pro' in the list. Note whether it is active or inactive.
    Affected if Duplicator plugin (free or Pro) is installed and active on the WordPress site
  2. Identify installed Duplicator version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins. Click on the Duplicator plugin name to view its details, or check the plugin file header at wp-content/plugins/duplicator/duplicator.php or wp-content/plugins duplicator-pro/duplicator_pro.php for the 'Version' comment.
    Affected if Version is below 1.3.28 for Duplicator (free) or below 3.8.7.1 for Duplicator Pro
  3. Confirm vulnerable endpoints are reachable
    Check if the following URL paths respond on your site: /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=duplicator_download and /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=duplicator_init. Attempt a basic request to these endpoints to verify they exist and process the 'file' parameter.
    Affected if These endpoints are accessible and accept a 'file' parameter without proper validation
  4. Test for directory traversal vulnerability
    Send a crafted request to an accessible duplicator endpoint with a file parameter containing traversal sequences, such as: /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=duplicator_download&file=../../wp-config.php. Check if the response contains the contents of the target file.
    Affected if The server returns file contents from outside the intended directory, confirming the directory traversal is exploitable

A site is affected if Duplicator plugin version is below 1.3.28 (free) or below 3.8.7.1 (Pro) AND the duplicator_download or duplicator_init endpoints are accessible and accept a 'file' parameter without proper path validation.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.3.28 / 3.8.7.1 or later
Fixed in 1.3.283.8.7.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Duplicator plugin version 1.3.28 or later (or Duplicator Pro 3.8.7.1 or later). If patching is not immediately possible, consider restricting access to the vulnerable endpoints via web server configuration.

Recommended fix High confidence

Duplicator free: 1.3.28; Duplicator Pro: 3.8.7.1

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate the Duplicator plugin (free version) or Duplicator Pro
  4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to upgrade to version 1.3.28 (free) or 3.8.7.1 (Pro)
  5. Alternatively, manually upload the fixed plugin ZIP file from the WordPress repository (free) or from snapcreek.com (Pro)
  6. Verify the installed version after update to confirm the fix is applied

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Duplicator Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-11738 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-11738 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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