Unrestricted File UploadWeakness · CWE-434

CVE-2024-52408

CRITICAL · 9.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type vulnerability in pushassist Push Notifications for WordPress by PushAssist push-notification-for-wp-by-pushassist allows Upload a Web Shell to a Web Server.This issue affects Push Notifications for WordPress by PushAssist: from n/a through <= 3.0.8.

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 PushAssist WordPress plugin (push-notification-for-wp-by-pushassist) through version 3.0.8 contains an unrestricted file upload vulnerability that allows attackers to upload arbitrary PHP files (web shells) directly to the webserver without proper validation of file types, extensions, or authentication checks. This enables remote code execution on the affected WordPress installation.

MitigationImmediately update to the latest patched version of the PushAssist plugin if available; if no patch exists, disable and remove the plugin, then audit the server for already-uploaded malicious files and implement WAF rules to block PHP upload attempts.

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 PushAssist plugin is installed
    Check the WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for a folder named 'push-notification-for-wp-by-pushassist', or view the installed plugins list in the WordPress admin dashboard under Plugins
    Affected if The PushAssist plugin folder exists in the WordPress installation
  2. Determine the installed plugin version
    Open the main plugin file (push-notification-for-wp-by-pushassist.php) and look for a version constant or version comment at the top, or check the plugin's readme.txt file for the 'Stable tag' entry
    Affected if The version is 3.0.8 or lower (any version up to and including 3.0.8)
  3. Inspect uploads directory for suspicious PHP files
    List all files in the WordPress uploads directory (wp-content/uploads/) and its subdirectories, searching for any .php files that were not intentionally placed there
    Affected if Any unexpected PHP files are found in the uploads directory, especially in subdirectories with recent modification dates
  4. Review access logs for upload activity
    Examine web server access logs (Apache error.log, access.log or Nginx access.log) for POST requests to the PushAssist plugin's upload endpoint, looking for requests that uploaded files with .php extensions from unfamiliar IP addresses
    Affected if Log entries show unauthorized PHP file uploads to the plugin's upload functionality

The environment is affected if the PushAssist plugin (push-notification-for-wp-by-pushassist) is installed at version 3.0.8 or lower, as this version contains the unrestricted file upload vulnerability that allows arbitrary PHP execution.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Immediately update to the latest patched version of the PushAssist plugin if available; if no patch exists, disable and remove the plugin, then audit the server for already-uploaded malicious files and implement WAF rules to block PHP upload attempts.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-52408 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-52408 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