WordPress HelpDesk Plugin Arbitrary File Deletion Vulnerability

The ELEX WordPress HelpDesk & Customer Ticketing System plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file deletion due to insufficient file path validation in the factory_reset function in all versions up to, and including, 3.3.8.

This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to delete arbitrary files on the server, which can easily lead to remote code execution when the right file is deleted, such as wp-config.php.

Exploitation requires a two-step chain:

• An unauthenticated attacker first stores an arbitrary ticket_attachment_path value by submitting a ticket through the nopriv eh_crm_new_ticket_post AJAX endpoint, whose nonce is publicly exposed via the [wsdesk_support] shortcode.
• The attacker then triggers the factory_reset routine via a GET request to wp-admin/admin.php?page=wsdesk_factory_reset, which is guarded only by is_admin() rather than a capability check, causing unlink() to be called on the attacker-supplied path.