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Pluck CMS EUVDEUVD-2026-53192

| CVE-2026-54416 HIGH
Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type (CWE-434)
2026-08-05 TuranSec GHSA-fvwx-9qcr-crph
7.2
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: TuranSec
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Obtain administrator credentials
  2. Delivery
    Authenticate to Pluck CMS admin panel
  3. Exploit
    Upload shell.php8 via file management
  4. Execution
    Request uploaded file URL in browser
  5. Persist
    Web server executes .php8 as PHP 8
  6. Impact
    Achieve arbitrary remote code execution

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

Exploitation requires two concurrent conditions: (1) the attacker must hold valid administrator credentials for the Pluck CMS instance - unauthenticated exploitation is not possible given the CVSS vector PR:H; and (2) the hosting server must be running PHP 8.x with the web server configured to map the .php8 extension to the PHP interpreter, which is standard on modern PHP 8 deployments. What limits exploitation: administrator authentication is the primary gate, meaning credential theft or insider access is a prerequisite; servers running only PHP 7.x without .php8 handler mappings are not vulnerable to the execution step (the file uploads but does not execute); and the attacker must have network access to the admin panel, which is sometimes restricted by IP allowlist in security-conscious deployments. There is no requirement for any non-default CMS configuration beyond the default file management feature being enabled, which it is by default in Pluck CMS.

Impact

The CVSS 3.1 vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H scores 7.2, accurately reflecting that exploitation demands administrator-level authentication - a meaningful barrier that limits opportunistic mass exploitation. Attack complexity is Low once credentials are obtained, and the upload mechanism is network-accessible. EPSS data was not provided in the intelligence input; without it, exploitation probability cannot be quantified. Critically, this is NOT in the CISA KEV catalog and no public proof-of-concept is identified in the provided data, placing it in a lower urgency tier despite the high impact metrics. The real-world risk is principally relevant to environments where admin credentials have been compromised, where insider threat is a concern, or where shared-admin deployments exist (e.g., multi-tenant CMS hosting). The server-side prerequisite of PHP 8.x is not a meaningful constraint given PHP 8.x is the current actively maintained branch and widely deployed. The overall risk profile is: high impact if an attacker reaches admin, but the PR:H requirement keeps automated or unauthenticated exploitation off the table. Organizations running Pluck CMS with multiple or externally accessible admin accounts should treat this as higher priority.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who has obtained administrator credentials to a Pluck CMS 4.7.21 installation (via credential stuffing, phishing, or a compromised shared-admin account) navigates to the admin file-management interface, uploads a PHP webshell named shell.php8 containing arbitrary PHP code, and then accesses the uploaded file via its public URL. On any server where the PHP 8.x runtime maps the .php8 extension to the PHP handler, the webshell executes with web server process privileges, granting the attacker interactive remote command execution on the underlying host. No public proof-of-concept code has been identified in the provided data, but the attack path is directly derivable from the CVE description.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 0.5% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 05, 2026

Remote code execution in Pluck CMS through 4.7.21 is achievable by any authenticated administrator who exploits a gap in the file upload blacklist: the extension '.php8' is absent from the hardcoded deny-list in data/inc/files.php, allowing a crafted file to be stored and subsequently executed as PHP on servers running PHP 8.x. Reported by TuranSec, this CWE-434 flaw carries a CVSS 7.2 (PR:H), meaning exploitation is constrained to admin-level accounts but delivers full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact once triggered. No public exploit code or CISA KEV listing is confirmed at time of analysis, but the bypass is trivially reproducible from the CVE description by any administrator with upload access.

RemediationAI

No vendor-released patched version has been identified in the provided references - the only reference points to the upstream GitHub repository (https://github.com/pluck-cms/pluck) without a specific advisory, commit, or tagged fix release. Administrators should monitor the Pluck CMS GitHub repository for a patch addressing this omission. As an immediate compensating control, administrators with filesystem access can manually add '.php8' to the extension blacklist in data/inc/files.php; note this is a brittle workaround that remains vulnerable to any future PHP extensions not yet enumerated (e.g., hypothetical .php9). A stronger mitigation is to reconfigure the blacklist logic to a strict whitelist of permitted extensions (e.g., jpg, png, gif, pdf, txt, zip) and reject all others - this eliminates the entire blacklist-bypass vulnerability class at the cost of restricting what file types administrators can upload. Additionally, web server configuration can be modified to prevent execution of any scripts within the CMS upload directory (using Apache's Options -ExecCGI, or nginx's fastcgi_param restrictions on the uploads path), which breaks the execution step even if a malicious file is stored.

Affected VersionsENISA

Pluck CMS 0 ≤4.7.21

Affected Packages

euvd pluck_cms 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

Pluck CMS (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:pluck-cms:pluck_cms:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) implements file upload safety exclusively via a hardcoded extension blacklist defined in data/inc/files.php. The blacklist checks the last 4-5 characters of the uploaded filename against a fixed set: .php, php3, php4, php5, php6, php7, phtml, .phtm, .pht, .ph3, .ph4, .ph5, .asp, .cgi, .phar. This deny-list strategy is inherently brittle under CWE-434 (Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type) - any extension not explicitly enumerated passes validation unchecked. PHP 8.x introduced the '.php8' extension as a recognized PHP handler mapping, but the Pluck blacklist was never updated to include it. Because the uploaded file is stored unmodified on disk and the web server's MIME/handler configuration maps .php8 to the PHP 8 interpreter, the file executes with full web server privileges when requested. A whitelist-based approach (permitting only safe, explicitly known extensions) would eliminate this entire vulnerability class.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (TuranSec) PRIMARY 7.2 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 7.2 HIGH

Admin credentials required (PR:H); upload is via web interface (AV:N); no complexity beyond authentication (AC:L); full host impact once executed.

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

Primary rating from Vendor (TuranSec).

CVSS VectorVendor: TuranSec

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

DescriptionCVE.org

Pluck CMS through 4.7.21 restricts dangerous file uploads in its admin file-management feature using a fixed blacklist in data/inc/files.php ('.php','php3','php4','php5','php6','php7','phtml','.phtm','.pht','.ph3','.ph4','.ph5','.asp','.cgi','.phar'), checked against the last 4-5 characters of the filename. The blacklist omits the '.php8' extension. An authenticated administrator can upload a file named e.g. shell.php8, which is stored unmodified and, on servers running PHP 8.x, is executed as PHP by the web server, resulting in remote code execution.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Pluck CMS versions through 4.7.21 allow authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary code on PHP 8.x servers through a file upload bypass, with no public exploit identified at time of analysis. This vulnerability directly exposes organizations to infrastructure compromise, data theft, and service disruption through either insider threats or compromised administrator credentials.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Restrict file upload capabilities to essential administrators only, disable uploads entirely if not needed, implement web application firewall rules to block .php8 file extensions, monitor and log all administrator upload activity, and conduct regular forensic scans of upload directories for unauthorized PHP 8 executable files.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.5%
Top 59% exploitable
Prevalence
Low
niche flat-file PHP CMS with limited enterprise adoption
Data Quality
7 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment GitHub VulDB

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 HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.5%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
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

37
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +36
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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