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CodeBard Help Desk CVE-2026-62024

| EUVDEUVD-2026-96462 CRITICAL
Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type (CWE-434)
2026-10-10 Patchstack GHSA-hpfr-835p-qqmv
9.9
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Patchstack
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Register subscriber account on target site
  2. Delivery
    Access Help Desk upload feature
  3. Exploit
    Upload malicious PHP disguised as attachment
  4. Execution
    Request uploaded file to execute webshell
  5. Impact
    Run arbitrary code as web server user

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling File type validation, storage isolation
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Command and Control, Persistence

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Requires an authenticated WordPress account at subscriber role or higher (CVSS PR:L) on a site running CodeBard Help Desk plugin version 1.1.2 or earlier; the attacker then abuses the plugin's ticket/attachment upload feature to upload an executable PHP file rather than a permitted file type (CWE-434). Exploitation is greatly eased when the site permits open/self-service user registration, since any visitor can then obtain the needed subscriber account; conversely, sites that disable public registration and restrict account creation meaningfully limit the attacker pool. No admin privileges and no victim user interaction are needed.

Impact

This is a genuine high-priority issue, not a CVSS-inflated one. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H, base 9.9) describes a network-reachable, low-complexity arbitrary file upload requiring only minimal (subscriber-level, PR:L) privileges, with no user interaction and a scope change reflecting that an uploaded PHP webshell executes outside the plugin's security context. On WordPress sites that allow open user registration, PR:L is trivially satisfied, effectively collapsing toward unauthenticated exploitation and making the practical risk close to the theoretical maximum. However, several escalation signals are absent from the provided data: no EPSS score was supplied, the CVE is not listed in CISA KEV, and no public proof-of-concept is referenced, so there is no evidence of active or at-scale exploitation yet. The combination - critical, easily weaponizable CWE-434 flaw but no observed exploitation and a limited-footprint plugin - suggests high intrinsic severity with currently low observed-exploitation pressure. Teams running this plugin should patch urgently regardless, because arbitrary file upload flaws in WordPress plugins are historically weaponized quickly once a PoC appears.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker registers (or obtains) a low-privilege subscriber account on a WordPress site running CodeBard Help Desk <= 1.1.2, then abuses the plugin's file-upload functionality to upload a malicious PHP file instead of a permitted attachment type. Browsing to the uploaded file executes it, yielding remote code execution as the web server user. No public exploit code is identified at time of analysis, but CWE-434 upload flaws are straightforward to weaponize.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
No patch listed yet 0.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 10, 2026

Authenticated arbitrary file upload in the CodeBard Help Desk WordPress plugin (versions up to and including 1.1.2) lets any logged-in user holding only a subscriber-level account push an executable PHP file onto the server through the plugin's ticket/attachment upload path, which typically converts into full remote code execution on the WordPress host. The flaw is rated CVSS 9.9 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H) - the scope change reflects that a low-privileged plugin user can compromise the whole site, not just the plugin - and requires no administrator rights and no victim interaction, though it does require an account on the target site (trivially obtained wherever open or self-service registration is enabled). At time of analysis there is no CISA KEV entry and no public exploit code identified for this issue; the practical urgency therefore turns on how easily an attacker can register a subscriber account on the target installation. This is a genuine high-priority issue, not a CVSS-inflated one.

RemediationAI

No vendor-released patch is identified in the available data for CVE-2026-62024; the tracked affected ceiling is 1.1.2 and no fixed version is confirmed, so treat this as unpatched pending an updated release from CodeBard and monitor the Patchstack advisory (https://patchstack.com/database/wordpress/plugin/codebard-help-desk/vulnerability/wordpress-codebard-help-desk-plugin-1-1-2-arbitrary-file-upload-vulnerability) and the plugin's WordPress.org page for a corrected build. If the help-desk/ticketing function is not business-critical, the highest-confidence mitigation is to deactivate and delete the plugin, understanding that you lose that functionality. Where the plugin must stay, close the attacker's entry condition: disable open/self-service registration and disable any front-end or membership add-on that lets visitors self-provision subscriber accounts (side effect: legitimate customers can no longer sign up without administrator involvement), and audit existing accounts, removing or demoting unused subscriber users. Independently neutralize the stored-file-to-code path by disabling PHP execution in the WordPress uploads directory (Apache: php_flag engine off via .htaccess or an equivalent <FilesMatch> block; nginx: a location block matching \.ph(p[0-9]?|tml)$ in /wp-content/uploads/ returning 403/404) - this is broadly safe but will break any plugin that intentionally executes PHP from uploads. As a virtual patch, deploy WAF rules that reject uploads whose filename carries PHP-family extensions or mismatched MIME types on the plugin's ticket attachment endpoint, and note that WAF coverage is evadable via encoding tricks. Finally, review and quarantine any PHP files already present in uploads directories, and enable alerts on new subscriber registrations plus file-creation events in uploads to catch exploitation attempts early.

Affected VersionsENISA

CodeBard Help Desk n/a ≤1.1.2

Affected Packages

euvd codebard_help_desk no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The root cause is CWE-434, Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type. CodeBard Help Desk is a WordPress support-ticket plugin that exposes an attachment upload feature to ticket submitters; that code path fails to properly validate the uploaded file type (extension/MIME allow-listing), so a PHP file can be stored alongside normal attachments. Because WordPress sites commonly serve the uploads directory from the web root, a stored .php file executed via HTTP yields arbitrary code execution in the web server context. The CVSS vector's PR:L value confirms the requirement for an authenticated actor (subscriber role or higher per the independent assessment), and S:C reflects that compromise escapes the plugin's own security authority to impact the underlying CMS and host. The supplied CPE cpe:2.3:a:codebard:codebard_help_desk:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* uses a wildcard version, consistent with the advisory covering all releases through 1.1.2 rather than a single build. Notably the plugin's own permission model, not WordPress core, is what gates the upload, so the exposure scales with the number of accounts the site allows to exist.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (Patchstack) PRIMARY 9.9 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 9.9 CRITICAL

Network-reachable upload needing only subscriber access (PR:L), no interaction; uploaded PHP executes as the server user, breaking out of plugin context (S:C) for full code execution (C/I/A:H).

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:L/SI:L/SA:L

Primary rating from Vendor (Patchstack).

CVSS VectorVendor: Patchstack

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

Subscriber Arbitrary File Upload in CodeBard Help Desk <= 1.1.2 versions.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A critical flaw in the CodeBard Help Desk plugin for WordPress (versions up to and including 1.1.2) allows any user with a basic subscriber account to upload and execute a PHP file, effectively handing an attacker full control of the affected website and its underlying host. Because subscriber accounts are commonly available through open or self-service registration, the barrier to exploitation is low wherever this plugin is deployed, and no vendor patch is currently available. Leadership should treat every internet-facing WordPress site running this plugin as a potential full-site compromise until it is removed or mitigated.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: deactivate or uninstall the CodeBard Help Desk plugin; disable open/self-service registration and remove or disable unused subscriber accounts; restrict access to the plugin's ticket and attachment upload functionality; block PHP uploads and execution in WordPress upload directories via WAF or web server configuration; deploy virtual patching rules for the upload endpoint; and monitor uploads directories and server logs for malicious file drops.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.4%
Top 63% exploitable
Prevalence
Low
niche WordPress helpdesk plugin, limited install base
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.4%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

50
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +50
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Malicious file upload attacks exploit insufficient validation when web applications accept user-provided files.

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