📄 Description (English)
WordPress Plugin Anti-Malware Security and Bruteforce Firewall 4.20.59 contains a directory traversal vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary files by manipulating the file parameter. Attackers can send requests to the duplicator_download action via admin-ajax.php with path traversal sequences to access sensitive system files outside the intended directory.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2021-47977 is a critical directory traversal vulnerability in WordPress Plugin Anti-Malware Security and Bruteforce Firewall version 4.20.59 that allows unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary files from affected servers. The vulnerability exploits improper input validation in the duplicator_download action, enabling attackers to bypass directory restrictions and access sensitive system files. With a CVSS score of 7.5 and no available patch, this poses an immediate risk to WordPress installations in Saudi Arabia, particularly those handling sensitive government or financial data.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: May 21, 2026 01:38
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability poses significant risk to Saudi organizations across multiple sectors: (1) Banking & Financial Services (SAMA-regulated entities) - exposure of customer data, transaction records, and authentication credentials; (2) Government Agencies (NCA oversight) - unauthorized access to administrative files, configuration data, and potentially classified information; (3) Healthcare Providers - breach of patient records and medical data subject to GDPR and local regulations; (4) Energy Sector (ARAMCO, utilities) - exposure of operational and infrastructure data; (5) Telecommunications (STC, Mobily) - customer information and network configuration exposure. The lack of authentication requirement makes this particularly dangerous for public-facing WordPress installations commonly used by Saudi organizations for web presence.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking & Financial Services
Government & Public Administration
Healthcare & Medical Services
Energy & Utilities
Telecommunications
E-commerce & Retail
Education
Media & Publishing
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
8.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Disable the Anti-Malware Security and Bruteforce Firewall plugin immediately on all WordPress installations
2. Audit web server logs (access.log, error.log) for requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=duplicator_download with path traversal sequences (../, ..\, %2e%2e%2f)
3. Search for suspicious file access patterns in the past 90 days
4. Conduct forensic analysis to identify if sensitive files were accessed (wp-config.php, .htaccess, /etc/passwd, database files)
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Update to plugin version 4.20.60 or later when available
2. If no patch is available, uninstall the plugin completely
3. Consider alternative security plugins with better code review practices
COMPENSATING CONTROLS:
1. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block requests containing path traversal sequences to admin-ajax.php
2. Restrict admin-ajax.php access via .htaccess or nginx configuration to known IP ranges
3. Implement file integrity monitoring (FIM) on sensitive configuration files
4. Enable WordPress security headers and disable file editing in wp-config.php (define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true))
5. Implement strict file permissions (644 for files, 755 for directories)
DETECTION RULES:
1. Monitor for GET/POST requests to admin-ajax.php containing: action=duplicator_download AND (../ OR ..%2f OR ..%5c OR %2e%2e)
2. Alert on access to sensitive files: wp-config.php, .htaccess, wp-settings.php, wp-load.php
3. Monitor for unusual file read operations from web server process
4. Implement SIEM rules to correlate multiple traversal attempts from same source IP
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تعطيل إضافة Anti-Malware Security and Bruteforce Firewall فوراً على جميع تثبيتات WordPress
2. تدقيق سجلات خادم الويب (access.log, error.log) للبحث عن طلبات إلى /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=duplicator_download تحتوي على تسلسلات المسار المتقاطع (../, ..\, %2e%2e%2f)
3. البحث عن أنماط الوصول إلى الملفات المريبة في آخر 90 يوماً
4. إجراء تحليل جنائي للتحقق من ما إذا تم الوصول إلى ملفات حساسة (wp-config.php, .htaccess, /etc/passwd, ملفات قاعدة البيانات)
توجيهات التصحيح:
1. التحديث إلى إصدار الإضافة 4.20.60 أو أحدث عند توفره
2. إذا لم يكن هناك تصحيح متاح، قم بإلغاء تثبيت الإضافة بالكامل
3. النظر في بدائل أمان أخرى مع ممارسات مراجعة الأكواد أفضل
الضوابط التعويضية:
1. تنفيذ قواعد جدار حماية تطبيقات الويب (WAF) لحجب الطلبات التي تحتوي على تسلسلات المسار المتقاطع إلى admin-ajax.php
2. تقييد الوصول إلى admin-ajax.php عبر .htaccess أو إعدادات nginx على نطاقات IP معروفة
3. تنفيذ مراقبة سلامة الملفات (FIM) على ملفات التكوين الحساسة
4. تفعيل رؤوس أمان WordPress وتعطيل تحرير الملفات في wp-config.php
5. تنفيذ أذونات ملفات صارمة (644 للملفات، 755 للدلائل)
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة طلبات GET/POST إلى admin-ajax.php التي تحتوي على: action=duplicator_download و (../ أو ..%2f أو ..%5c أو %2e%2e)
2. التنبيه عند الوصول إلى ملفات حساسة: wp-config.php, .htaccess, wp-settings.php, wp-load.php
3. مراقبة عمليات قراءة الملفات غير العادية من عملية خادم الويب
4. تنفيذ قواعد SIEM لربط محاولات المسار المتقاطع المتعددة من نفس عنوان IP المصدر
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
A.5.1.1 - Information Security Policies and Procedures
A.6.1.1 - Access Control Policy
A.6.2.1 - User Registration and De-registration
A.6.2.2 - User Access Provisioning
A.8.1.1 - Objective and Principles of Cryptography
A.8.2.1 - Secure Development Policy
A.8.2.3 - Security Testing in Development and Pre-production Environments
A.12.2.1 - Monitoring and Logging
A.12.4.1 - Event Logging
A.12.4.3 - Administrator and Operator Logs
A.12.6.1 - Management of Technical Vulnerabilities
🔵 SAMA CSF
Governance & Risk Management - Vulnerability Management
Information & Cybersecurity - Access Control
Information & Cybersecurity - Data Protection
Operational Resilience - Monitoring & Detection
Operational Resilience - Incident Management
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.5.1 - Management Direction for Information Security
A.6.1 - Roles and Responsibilities
A.6.2 - Information Security Responsibilities
A.8.1 - Cryptographic Controls
A.8.2 - Development Security
A.12.2 - Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Asset Management
A.12.4 - Logging
A.12.6 - Management of Technical Vulnerabilities
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
Requirement 2.2 - Configuration Standards for System Components
Requirement 6.2 - Ensure Security Patches are Installed
Requirement 6.5 - Injection Flaws
Requirement 10.2 - Implement Automated Audit Trails
Requirement 10.3 - Protect Audit Trail History
🔗 References & Sources 4