What happened
The SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion in all versions up to, and including, 1.73.2 via the 'theme' parameter parameter. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to include and execute arbitrary .php files on the server, allowing the execution of any PHP code in those files. This can be used to bypass access controls, obtain sensitive data, or achieve code execution in cases where .php file types can be uploaded and included. Exploitation requires sending a malicious widgetData payload containing a legacy top-level theme key alongside a non-empty columns array to the /wp-json/sowb/v1/widgets/previews REST endpoint, which bypasses field validation because update_fields() only processes declared form fields.
Affected versions
SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle: 0 through 1.73.2 (semver) Fixed: See vendor advisory.
Why it matters
Review the vendor advisory and exposure of the affected product to determine operational impact.
Detection & mitigation
- Apply vendor-provided updates or mitigations.
- Review affected product exposure and access logs.
Public PoC references
No public PoC reference has passed the current publication threshold.