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CVE-2018-14028· NVD / CVE Program· CNA mitre

In WordPress 4.9.7, plugins uploaded via the admin area are not verified as being ZIP files.

In WordPress 4.9.7, plugins uploaded via the admin area are not verified as being ZIP files. This allows for PHP files to be uploaded. Once a PHP file is uploaded, the plugin extraction fails, but the PHP file remains in a predictable wp-content/uploads location, allowing for an attacker to then execute the file. This represents a security risk in limited scenarios where an attacker (who does have the required capabilities for plugin uploads) cannot simply place arbitrary PHP code into a valid plugin ZIP file and upload that plugin, because a machine's wp-content/plugins directory permissions were set up to block all new plugins.

HighCVSS 7.2 · v3.0—No exploit No fix recorded
Published
Aug 10, 2018
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
15.2% · 97th percentile
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Report tools

JSON

Action score

33

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
28 / 40 · 7.2 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
5 / 30 · 15.2%

Affected systems

VendorProduct
wordpresswordpress

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Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • wordpress wordpress4.9.7

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12wordpressall versions—

Same product

wordpress: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-63030WordPress < 7.0.2 - REST API batch-route confusion and SQL injection issue leading to Remote Code ExecutionKEV
    72This week
  • CVE-2026-87902An unauthenticated attacker can make `get_page_template()` page-template resolution include a chosen readable local `.php` file outside the KEV
    68This week
  • CVE-2019-8942WordPress before 4.9.9 and 5.x before 5.0.1 allows remote code execution because an _wp_attached_file Post Meta entry can be changed to an a
    60This week
  • CVE-2022-21661SQL injection in WordPress
    59Plan
  • CVE-2026-60137WordPress < 7.0.2 - Facilitated SQL Injection via author__not_in in WP_QueryKEV
    55Plan
  • CVE-2017-1001000The register_routes function in wp-includes/rest-api/endpoints/class-wp-rest-posts-controller.php in the REST API in WordPress 4.7.x before
    55Plan

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • Administrator privileges are required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-434 · Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.

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Change log

No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records