Is BackWPup safe? Known vulnerabilities and latest version

The BackWPup WordPress plugin before 5.7.7 does not properly restrict the destination path of files extracted during a backup restore when its fallback archive library is used, allowing high-privileged users to write files outside the intended restore directory, potentially leading to remote code execution.

The BackWPup WordPress plugin before 5.7.7 does not properly restrict web access to the working directory it uses during backup restores, allowing unauthenticated attackers, on webservers that do not honour .htaccess rules such as NGINX, to download the full backup archive (database dump and site files, including credentials and secret keys) left behind by an interrupted restore.

The BackWPup WordPress plugin before 5.7.7 does not verify that a request to its cron-triggered backup execution handler actually originates from WordPress's internal scheduled-event dispatch, allowing unauthenticated attackers to force any existing backup job to run immediately, independent of its configured trigger type or schedule.

The BackWPup WordPress plugin before 5.7.5 does not properly restrict access to several of its REST API routes for job, backup-destination, and backup-execution management, allowing users holding a BackWPup WordPress plugin before 5.7.5-defined, administrator-assigned limited role to create and run backup jobs and exfiltrate a full database backup to an attacker-controlled destination.

Unauthenticated Cross Site Scripting (XSS) in BackWPup <= 5.7.4 versions.

The BackWPup plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion via the `block_name` parameter of the `/wp-json/backwpup/v1/getblock` REST endpoint in all versions up to, and including, 5.6.6 due to a non-recursive `str_replace()` sanitization of path traversal sequences. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Administrator-level access and above, to include arbitrary PHP files on the server via crafted traversal sequences (e.g., `....//`), which can be leveraged to read sensitive files such as `wp-config.php` or achieve remote code execution in certain configurations. Administrators have the ability to grant individual users permission to handle backups, which may then allow lower-level users to exploit this vulnerability.

The BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data that can lead to privilege escalation due to a missing capability check on the save_site_option() function in all versions up to, and including, 5.6.2. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with level access and above, to update arbitrary options on the WordPress site. This can be leveraged to update the default role for registration to administrator and enable user registration for attackers to gain administrative user access to a vulnerable site.

The BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access of data due to a missing capability check on the 'backwpup_working' AJAX action in all versions up to, and including, 5.5.0. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to retrieve access to a back-up's filename while a backup is running. This information has little value on it's own, but could be used to aid in a brute force attack to retrieve back-up contents in limited environments (i.e. NGINX).

The BackWPup plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Directory Traversal in versions up to, and including, 4.0.1 via the job-specific backup folder. This allows authenticated attackers to store backups in arbitrary folders on the server provided they can be written to by the server. Additionally, default settings will place an index.php and a .htaccess file into the chosen directory (unless already present) when the first backup job is run that are intended to prevent directory listing and file access. This means that an attacker could set the backup directory to the root of another site in a shared environment and thus disable that site.

The BackWPup WordPress plugin before 4.0.4 does not prevent Directory Listing in its temporary backup folder, allowing unauthenticated attackers to download backups of a site's database.

The BackWPup plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Plaintext Storage of Backup Destination Password in all versions up to, and including, 4.0.2. This is due to to the plugin improperly storing backup destination passwords in plaintext. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with administrator-level access, to retrieve the password from the password input field in the UI or from the options table where the password is stored.

The BackWPup plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Directory Traversal in versions up to, and including, 4.0.1 via the Log File Folder. This allows authenticated attackers to store backups in arbitrary folders on the server provided they can be written to by the server. Additionally, default settings will place an index.php and a .htaccess file into the chosen directory (unless already present) when the first backup job is run that are intended to prevent directory listing and file access. This means that an attacker could set the backup directory to the root of another site in a shared environment and thus disable that site.

Vulnerability in Wordpress plugin BackWPup before v3.4.2 allows possible brute forcing of backup file for download.