CVE-2023-46205
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 · uneditedImproper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Brainstorm Force Ultimate Addons for WPBakery Page Builder allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Ultimate Addons for WPBakery Page Builder: from n/a through 3.19.14.
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 confidenceA path traversal vulnerability in the Brainstorm Force Ultimate Addons for WPBakery Page Builder plugin allows attackers to perform local file inclusion (LFI) attacks, potentially executing arbitrary PHP code on the server by manipulating file path references.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L
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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Verify Ultimate Addons for WPBakery is installedIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and locate 'Ultimate Addons for WPBakery Page Builder' or check the plugin directory /wp-content/plugins/ultimate-addons-for-wpbakery/ for the main plugin fileAffected if Plugin is present in the WordPress installation
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Determine installed plugin versionCheck the plugin header in the main PHP file (usually ultimate-addons-for-wpbakery.php) for the 'Version' comment, or view the plugin details in WordPress admin plugins listAffected if Version cannot be determined or is older than the patched release
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Identify vulnerable file inclusion endpointsSearch plugin PHP files for include, include_once, require, or require_once statements that use variables in the file path (e.g., include($file), include($_GET['path'])) without proper sanitization; focus on files handling AJAX requests or frontend shortcodesAffected if File inclusion code accepts unsanitized user input and the plugin is active
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Check for path traversal patterns in access logsReview web server access logs (Apache/Nginx) for requests to the plugin containing '../' sequences, such as '?file=../../wp-config.php' or similar patterns targeting the vulnerable endpointAffected if Suspicious path traversal requests are found in logs targeting the plugin
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Inspect for signs of successful exploitationLook for unexpected PHP files in the plugin directory, modified plugin files, or newly created PHP files in upload directories; check wp-config.php and other sensitive files for unauthorized modificationsAffected if Unknown PHP files exist or sensitive configuration files have been altered
A user is affected if the Ultimate Addons for WPBakery plugin is installed with a version prior to the patched release and the vulnerable file inclusion functionality is accessible to attackers.
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 dataUpdate Ultimate Addons for WPBakery Page Builder to the latest patched version. If immediate update is not possible, implement WAF rules to block path traversal patterns (../) and restrict file inclusion to safe paths.
- Consultation2.0 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 $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-46205 — 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-2023-46205 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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