Summary

  • A novice cyber security worker describes their first experience finding a vulnerability and how they went about it.
  • They discovered a particular website used the WordPress content management system and consulted a vulnerability scanner, without success.
  • Instead, they manually checked the plugins and found Contact Form 7 version 5.3.1 was vulnerable; this gave the attacker permission to edit any file via a local edit file path injection vulnerability.
  • They followed a POC (proof of concept) on Github submitted by dn9uy3n, verifying the code and its effectiveness before attempting to exploit the vulnerability, and subsequently reported the vulnerability to the website owner.
  • The report was rewarded with a payment of $143.98, and the attacker stressed the importance of not relying solely on automated systems and taking a hands-on approach.

By Jionin

Original Article