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SSL Zen EUVDEUVD-2026-86599

| CVE-2026-17602 MEDIUM
Path Traversal (CWE-22)
2026-09-25 Wordfence GHSA-gcpm-5qpp-4477
4.9
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Wordfence
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Authenticate as WordPress admin
  2. Exploit
    Submit traversal payload in 'file_name'
  3. Execution
    Plugin reads out-of-scope file path
  4. Impact
    Exfiltrate sensitive file contents (e.g. wp-config.php)

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path canonicalization, traversal prevention
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Discovery, Collection

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 session with WordPress administrator-level capabilities (or higher) on a site running SSL Zen <= 4.7.42; the attacker must reach the admin handler in class.ssl_zen_admin.php and control the 'file_name' parameter. What limits exploitation: the PR:H barrier is significant because WordPress administrators already possess broad file access via the plugin/theme editor and upload capabilities, so the vulnerability meaningfully adds risk only on multi-admin, multisite, or delegated-admin deployments, or after an admin account is already compromised. No end-user interaction is needed (UI:N), and no special non-default plugin configuration is described beyond having the plugin installed and active.

Impact

This is a genuinely low-priority issue despite a CWE-22 arbitrary-file-read primitive, and the raw CVSS of 4.9 (Medium) reflects that correctly. The most important signal is PR:H in the CVSS vector (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N): exploitation requires administrator-level WordPress access. In the WordPress trust model an administrator can already read and write server files through the built-in plugin/theme editor, upload arbitrary PHP, and typically escalate to code execution - so a traversal-based file-read gained by an existing admin adds little real-world privilege beyond what that role already grants. The realistic threat is narrow: a lower-trust admin on a multi-admin or multisite install reading files outside the intended web scope, or an attacker who has already compromised an admin account. No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit code are present in the input, so exploitation status is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis'. There is no conflict between the signals - network vector with AC:L is offset entirely by the PR:H barrier and C-only impact (I:N/A:N). Treat as routine patch hygiene, not an emergency.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An authenticated user holding administrator (or higher) access to a WordPress site running SSL Zen <= 4.7.42 sends a crafted request supplying a traversal payload (e.g. ../../wp-config.php) in the 'file_name' parameter handled by class.ssl_zen_admin.php, causing the plugin to return the contents of an arbitrary server file such as wp-config.php or /etc/passwd. This is most meaningful on shared or multi-admin installations where a semi-trusted admin reads files beyond their intended scope. No public proof-of-concept is referenced in the available data.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
No patch listed yet 0.6% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 25, 2026

Authenticated directory traversal in the WordPress plugin SSL Zen - SSL Certificate Installer & HTTPS Redirects (all versions up to and including 4.7.42) allows a user with administrator-level capabilities to read the contents of arbitrary files on the server through the 'file_name' parameter, exposing sensitive data such as wp-config.php or other credential-bearing files. The flaw is a classic CWE-22 path traversal (CVSS 3.1: AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N, base 4.9 Medium), and the high privilege prerequisite substantially limits real-world impact because WordPress administrators already hold broad file-read/upload capabilities; our assessment rates this as a genuinely low-priority issue. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis and the CVE is not listed in CISA KEV; no EPSS score was supplied.

RemediationAI

There is no exact vendor-announced fix version in the provided data; a corrective changeset has been published at https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3701590%40ssl-zen&new=3701590%40ssl-zen, so the upstream fix is available (changeset/commit) but a released patched version is not independently confirmed here. Site owners should update the SSL Zen plugin as soon as a version above 4.7.42 is offered in the WordPress plugin repository and verify the installed version afterward; note that WordPress core's plugin-update channel is the only trusted source, and third-party mirrors should be avoided. Because the prerequisite is an authenticated administrator, the most effective compensating control is strict least-privilege administration: audit and reduce the number of administrator accounts, remove stale or delegated admin users, and avoid granting admin on multisite installations where lower-trust operators manage subsites - the trade-off is operational friction for site maintenance. If an immediate plugin update is not possible, deactivate SSL Zen until it can be patched (loss of certificate installation and HTTPS redirect automation is the trade-off), and in the interim deploy a WAF rule that rejects requests to wp-admin endpoints carrying path-traversal sequences such as '../' in the 'file_name' parameter, accepting that generic traversal signatures generate some false positives. Finally, since a compromised or malicious administrator account is the main realistic attack path, enforce strong unique credentials and two-factor authentication for all admin users and monitor webserver logs for anomalous traversal patterns; rotating any secrets (salts, API keys, database credentials) stored in files that may have been read is advisable if suspicious admin activity is detected.

Affected VersionsENISA

SSL Zen — SSL Certificate Installer & HTTPS Redirects 0 ≤4.7.42

Affected Packages

euvd ssl_zen_ssl_certificate_installer_https_redirects 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 vulnerable component is the WordPress plugin 'SSL Zen - SSL Certificate Installer & HTTPS Redirects', identified by CPE cpe:2.3:a:sslzen:ssl_zen_-_ssl_certificate_installer_&_https_redirects. The underlying weakness is CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory / Path Traversal): the admin-side handler in ssl_zen/classes/class.ssl_zen_admin.php (referenced at lines 54, 492 and 496 in both the 4.7.42 and 4.7.12 tagged releases) takes the 'file_name' parameter and uses it to build a filesystem path without adequate canonicalization or base-directory confinement, so sequences such as ../ can escape the intended directory. Because the endpoint is registered in the WordPress administrative context and the CVSS vector specifies PR:H, reachability requires an authenticated session with administrator-level capabilities; the network attack vector (AV:N) simply reflects that the HTTP request can originate remotely once such a session exists. The impact is confidentiality-only (C:H, I:N, A:N), meaning file disclosure rather than code execution or data modification.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (Wordfence) PRIMARY 4.9 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
vuln.today AI 4.9 MEDIUM

Administrator access is required so PR:H; network-reachable admin endpoint with no user interaction gives AV:N/AC:L/UI:N; arbitrary file read yields C:H with no integrity or availability impact.

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

Primary rating from Vendor (Wordfence).

CVSS VectorVendor: Wordfence

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

DescriptionCVE.org

The SSL Zen - SSL Certificate Installer & HTTPS Redirects plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Directory Traversal in all versions up to, and including, 4.7.42 via the 'file_name' parameter parameter. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with administrator-level access and above, to read the contents of arbitrary files on the server, which can contain sensitive information.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.6%
Top 56% exploitable
Prevalence
Low
Single-purpose WordPress SSL/HTTPS plugin, moderate niche install base
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

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 MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.6%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
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· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

25
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +24
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Path traversal exploits occur when applications use user-controlled input to construct file system paths without proper validation.

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