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NVD / CVE Program· CNA Wordfence

CVE-2022-2431: Download Manager <= 3.2.50 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Arbitrary File Deletion

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 36/100)

  • 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: 3.8% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 90% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.

Low priority for now. 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 Download Manager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file deletion in versions up to, and including 3.2.50. This is due to insufficient file type and path validation on the deleteFiles() function found in the ~/Admin/Menu/Packages.php file that triggers upon download post deletion. This makes it possible for contributor level users and above to supply an arbitrary file path via the 'file[files]' parameter when creating a download post and once the user deletes the post the supplied arbitrary file will be deleted. This can be used by attackers to delete the /wp-config.php file which will reset the installation and make it possible for an attacker to achieve remote code execution on the server.

HighCVSS 8.8 · v3.1—No exploit No fix recorded
Published
Sep 6, 2022
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
3.8% · 90th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

36

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
35 / 40 · 8.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 3.8%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
8.8
CNA · Wordfence
8.1
0.7 point gap

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

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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?

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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
w3edendownload manager

Affected versions

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

  • w3eden download managerup to 3.2.50 inclusive

Versions reported by the vendor

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

  • download-manager Download Manager

    • 3.2.50 and later · up to and including 3.2.50affected

Same product

w3eden: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2014-9260The basic_settings function in the download manager plugin for WordPress before 2.7.3 allows remote authenticated users to update every Word
    38Monitor
  • CVE-2022-2436Download Manager <= 3.2.49 - Authenticated (Contributor+) PHAR Deserialization
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2022-36288WordPress Download Manager plugin <= 3.2.48 - Multiple Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities
    35Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2022-34347Aug 22, 2022 · WordPress Download Manager plugin <= 3.2.48 - Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability
    35Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2022-34658Aug 23, 2022 · WordPress Download Manager plugin <= 3.2.48 - Multiple Authenticated Persistent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities
    21Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2022-4476Jan 16, 2023 · Download Manager < 3.2.62 - Contributor+ Stored XSS
    21Monitor

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.

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.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • 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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-73 · External Control of File Name or Path

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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.

References

Show all references (1 more)

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

All records