dbcve.org
Path TraversalWeakness · CWE-22

CVE-2024-35162

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
Path traversal vulnerability exists in Download Plugins and Themes from Dashboard versions prior to 1.8.6. If this vulnerability is exploited, a remote authenticated attacker with "switch_themes" privilege may obtain arbitrary files on the server.

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

Path traversal vulnerability in the WordPress plugin 'Download Plugins and Themes from Dashboard' allows authenticated attackers with 'switch_themes' privilege to read arbitrary files on the server by manipulating file path sequences (e.g., ../../) in plugin or theme download requests.

MitigationUpgrade the plugin to version 1.8.6 or later, which contains the patch for this vulnerability.

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Download Plugins and Themes from Dashboard' or check the plugin files in wp-content/plugins/
    Affected if The plugin is installed and active
  2. Check installed plugin version
    In WordPress admin plugins list, find the plugin and note the version number displayed, or open the main plugin PHP file and look for the 'Version' header in the plugin comment block
    Affected if The version is lower than 1.8.6 or the version cannot be determined (implies vulnerable)
  3. Confirm user privileges
    In WordPress admin, go to Users and review which users have 'switch_themes' capability or Administrator role, as this capability is required to trigger the vulnerable feature
    Affected if Any user account with 'switch_themes' capability exists on the site (even if the account is not currently compromised, the vulnerability is present)

The site is affected if the 'Download Plugins and Themes from Dashboard' plugin is installed with a version before 1.8.6 AND any user with 'switch_themes' capability (typically Administrators) exists on the WordPress site.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade the plugin to version 1.8.6 or later, which contains the patch for this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Version 1.8.6

  1. Log in to WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate the 'Download Plugins and Themes from Dashboard' plugin
  4. Click 'Update now' or 'Update' to upgrade to version 1.8.6 or later
  5. Verify the plugin version after updating

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get help mitigating

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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-2024-35162 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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