CVE-2018-14028

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.

• CWE-434

• http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105060Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
• https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/44710Third Party Advisory
• https://github.com/rastating/wordpress-exploit-framework/pull/52Third Party Advisory
• https://rastating.github.io/unrestricted-file-upload-via-plugin-uploader-in-wordpress/Third Party Advisory
• http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105060Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
• https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/44710Third Party Advisory
• https://github.com/rastating/wordpress-exploit-framework/pull/52Third Party Advisory
• https://rastating.github.io/unrestricted-file-upload-via-plugin-uploader-in-wordpress/Third Party Advisory

Published

Aug 10, 2018

Last Modified

Jun 17, 2026

Status

Modified