# CVE-2023-5505: BackWPup <= 4.0.1 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Directory Traversal

> Authenticated administrators can exploit directory traversal to store backups in arbitrary folders, potentially disabling other sites in shared environments.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Aug 2024
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-w8jq-x49j-99g5

## What is CVE-2023-5505?

CVE-2023-5505 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in wp_media BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin, published on 17 Aug 2024. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-5505?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Inpsyde Backwpup.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-5505?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-5505 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-5505 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-5505 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in wp_media BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin

- [CVE-2023-5504](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5504/): BackWPup <= 4.0.1 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Directory Traversal (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2023-7164](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-7164/): BackWPup < 4.0.4 - Unauthenticated Backup Download (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2017-2551](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-2551/): Information disclosure in backwpup (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2023-5775](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5775/): BackWPup <= 4.0.2 - Plaintext Storage of Backup Destination Password (low 2.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-5505 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-5505 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in wp_media BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin, published on 17 Aug 2024. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-5505 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: wp_media BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin. 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-2023-5505/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5505/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-5505
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-5505
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-5505

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5505/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.