# CVE-2018-20714: Path traversal in n/a

> Shop managers can escalate privileges to admin by deleting the WooCommerce configuration file via a path traversal vulnerability.

- **Severity:** High 8.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Jan 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-p953-jh8v-pgvw

## What is CVE-2018-20714?

CVE-2018-20714 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 15 Jan 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The logging system of the Automattic WooCommerce plugin before 3.4.6 for WordPress is vulnerable to a File Deletion vulnerability. This allows deletion of woocommerce.php, which leads to certain privilege checks not being in place, and therefore a shop manager can escalate privileges to admin.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-20714?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Woocommerce Woocommerce.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-20714?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-20714 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-20714 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-20714 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2019-20891](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-20891/): WooCommerce Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2017-18356](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-18356/): Code injection in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2025-5062](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-5062/): WooCommerce <= 9.4.2 - PostMessage-Based Cross-Site Scripting (medium 6.1)
- [CVE-2019-9168](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9168/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 6.1)
- [CVE-2015-2329](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2329/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 6.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-20714 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-20714 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 15 Jan 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-20714 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-20714/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-20714/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-20714
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-20714
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-20714

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-20714/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.