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NVD / CVE Program· CNA WPScan

CVE-2021-24376: Autoptimize < 2.7.8 - Arbitrary File Upload via "Import Settings"

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Plan (action score 40/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 3.7% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 89.8% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.

Add it to your regular patch cycle. Update when a fix is released; follow the vendor's advisory.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

The Autoptimize WordPress plugin before 2.7.8 attempts to delete malicious files (such as .php) form the uploaded archive via the "Import Settings" feature, after its extraction. However, the extracted folders are not checked and it is possible to upload a zip which contained a directory with PHP file in it and then it is not removed from the disk. It is a bypass of CVE-2020-24948 which allows sending a PHP file via the "Import Settings" functionality to achieve Remote Code Execution.

CriticalCVSS 9.8 · v3.1—No exploit No fix recorded
Published
Jun 21, 2021
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
3.7% · 89th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

40

Plan

Add it to your regular patch cycle.

CVSS
39 / 40 · 9.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 3.7%

Is Autoptimize on your site?

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Is Autoptimize on your site?

When you'll hear from us

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  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
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  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
autoptimizeautoptimize

Affected versions

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

  • autoptimize autoptimizebefore 2.7.8

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (WPScan). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Unknown Autoptimize

    • 2.7.8 and later · before 2.7.8affected

Same product

autoptimize: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2021-24377Autoptimize < 2.7.8 - Race Condition leading to RCE
    32Monitor
  • CVE-2020-24948The ao_ccss_import AJAX call in Autoptimize Wordpress Plugin 2.7.6 does not ensure that the file provided is a legitimate Zip file, allowing
    32Monitor
  • CVE-2023-2113Autoptimize < 3.1.7 - Admin+ Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Settings Import
    19Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2021-24332May 24, 2021 · Autoptimize < 2.8.4 - Authenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
    19Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2021-24378Jun 21, 2021 · Autoptimize < 2.7.8 - Authenticated Stored XSS via File Upload
    19Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2022-2635Sep 16, 2022 · Autoptimize < 3.1.1 - Admin+ Stored Cross Site Scripting
    19Monitor

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.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

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

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

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

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

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is 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
None
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:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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.

Change log

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

All records