# CVE-2021-24154: Theme Editor < 2.6 - Authenticated Arbitrary File Download

> Authenticated administrators can download arbitrary files from the web server due to lack of validation in the Theme Editor plugin.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Apr 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-4cqh-mqrw-7qqg

## What is CVE-2021-24154?

CVE-2021-24154 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Unknown Theme Editor, published on 5 Apr 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Theme Editor WordPress plugin before 2.6 did not validate the GET file parameter before passing it to the download_file() function, allowing administrators to download arbitrary files on the web server, such as /etc/passwd

Weakness: CWE-552 (Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-24154?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Themeeditor Theme Editor.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-24154?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-24154 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-24154 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-24154 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Unknown Theme Editor

- [CVE-2022-2440](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-2440/): Theme Editor <= 2.8 - Authenticated (Admin+) PHAR Deserialization (high 7.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-24154 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-24154 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Unknown Theme Editor, published on 5 Apr 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-24154 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Unknown Theme Editor. 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-2021-24154/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24154/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-24154
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-24154
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-24154

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24154/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.