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WP File Download EUVDEUVD-2026-96217

| CVE-2026-94538 HIGH
Missing Authorization (CWE-862)
2026-10-10 Wordfence GHSA-cqx4-48wp-q2rc
8.1
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
    Obtain subscriber-level account
  2. Exploit
    Send crafted authenticated action request
  3. Execution
    Bypass missing authorization check
  4. Impact
    Delete or tamper with managed files

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Authorization checks on every request
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation

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

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires an authenticated account with at least subscriber-level privileges on a WordPress site running the WP File Download plugin version 6.3.9 or earlier; the flaw lies in the plugin failing to verify that the caller is authorized for the requested action. The practical limiting factor is this authentication requirement (PR:L) - attackers cannot exploit it fully unauthenticated - but the barrier is low because subscriber is the lowest WordPress role and is often available via open self-registration. No special non-default plugin configuration is indicated as necessary; the condition is simply the presence of a vulnerable version and a low-privilege account.

Impact

The CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.1 (High) is driven by a network attack vector (AV:N), low complexity (AC:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and high integrity and availability impact (I:H/A:H) with no confidentiality impact (C:N). Critically, the vector specifies PR:L, meaning exploitation requires authentication - the description confirms only subscriber-level access is needed, which is the lowest meaningful privilege tier on most WordPress sites and is often self-registerable, so this barrier is low in practice. No EPSS score, CISA KEV listing, or SSVC decision data was provided in the input, and no public exploit was identified; the only reporting source is Wordfence. There is no signal of active exploitation, so this is a genuinely high-severity authorization flaw whose real-world priority hinges on whether affected sites allow open user registration - on sites that do, the low auth bar makes it a meaningful priority; on sites restricted to trusted users, the practical risk is reduced. No conflicting signals were observed between the CVSS vector and the description - both agree on authenticated remote exploitation.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker registers (or already holds) a subscriber-level account on a WordPress site running WP File Download 6.3.9 or earlier, then sends crafted authenticated requests to the plugin's action handlers that fail to verify the caller's authorization. With no further privileges, they permanently delete files, empty the trash, move files between categories, or toggle publish state - destroying or tampering with managed content. No public proof-of-concept was identified at the time of analysis.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 10, 2026

Authorization bypass in the JoomUnited WP File Download plugin for WordPress (all versions up to and including 6.3.9) allows any authenticated user with subscriber-level access or above to permanently delete any file managed by the plugin, empty the entire trash, move files between categories, and publish or unpublish arbitrary files. The flaw is a missing authorization check (CWE-862), meaning the plugin's action handlers never verify that the caller holds a capability appropriate for the requested operation, so the lowest-privilege WordPress role is sufficient. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis and the CVE is not listed in CISA KEV, but the barrier to exploitation is low because subscriber accounts are frequently obtainable through open self-registration; the assessed CVSS 3.1 base score is 8.1 (High) with high integrity and availability impact and no confidentiality impact.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: not confirmed with an exact version in the supplied data - the advisory references the WP File Download changelog (https://www.joomunited.com/changelog/wp-file-download-changelog) and the affected range is stated as all versions up to and including 6.3.9, so administrators should upgrade to the latest release published there (any version above 6.3.9) and verify the installed version in the WordPress Plugins screen after updating. If upgrading must be deferred, the strongest compensating control is to remove the exposure prerequisite: disable open user registration and audit existing accounts, since exploitation requires only a subscriber-level session, and delete or demote unused low-privilege accounts - the trade-off is loss of self-service signup and possible disruption to legitimate members. Additional short-term containment includes blocking or challenging plugin-specific admin-ajax.php and REST requests from low-privilege sessions at the WAF or reverse-proxy layer, applying least-privilege role reviews so no non-administrative role retains file-management capabilities, and, as a last resort, temporarily deactivating the plugin - noting that deactivation removes file download functionality for all users and may break shortcodes or category listings on the site. Because no public exploit code was identified at time of analysis and the issue is not in CISA KEV, this is a planned-patch priority rather than an emergency response, though the high availability and integrity impact (I:H/A:H) means deletion and defacement damage can be irreversible without off-site file and database backups.

Affected VersionsENISA

WP File Download 0 ≤6.3.9

Affected Packages

euvd wp_file_download 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-862 (Missing Authorization): WP File Download registers AJAX/REST action handlers for file management operations (delete file, empty trash, move category, publish/unpublish) but does not perform the required current_user_can() capability check before executing them, nor does it verify a nonce tied to a privileged action. Because the check is absent rather than flawed, any request carrying a valid low-privilege WordPress session cookie is processed as though it came from an administrator. The CPE string cpe:2.3:a:joomunited:wp_file_download:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* confirms the affected component is the JoomUnited plugin itself across all tracked versions, with the vendor changelog indicating a fix lands above the reported 6.3.9 boundary. The CVSS vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H shows a network-reachable, low-complexity, no-user-interaction attack that requires only authenticated low-privilege access (PR:L) and yields high integrity and availability impact but no confidentiality impact - consistent with destructive and state-changing file operations rather than data exfiltration.

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Severity by source

Vendor (Wordfence) PRIMARY 8.1 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 8.1 HIGH

Subscriber-level auth gives PR:L; file deletion/trash-emptying yields A:H and unauthorized moves/publishing yields I:H; no data disclosure so C:N.

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

Primary rating from Vendor (Wordfence).

CVSS VectorVendor: Wordfence

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

DescriptionCVE.org

The WP File Download plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass in all versions up to, and including, 6.3.9. This is due to the plugin not properly verifying that a user is authorized to perform an action. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to permanently delete any file managed by WP File Download, empty the entire trash, move files between categories, and publish or unpublish arbitrary files.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

The WP File Download plugin for WordPress, in all versions up to and including 6.3.9, allows any subscriber-level account to permanently delete files, empty the plugin's entire trash, move files between categories, and publish or unpublish arbitrary content, because the plugin's action handlers never check user capabilities. No vendor patch is currently available, so every site running the plugin is exposed until a fix ships or the plugin is removed. Leadership should care because subscriber accounts are commonly created through open self-registration, turning routine file libraries into a target for data loss and content tampering with minimal attacker effort.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: deactivate or remove the WP File Download plugin; disable open self-registration and remove unnecessary subscriber accounts; strip file-management capabilities from low-privilege roles via a role-management plugin; block the plugin's action/AJAX endpoints at the WAF; enforce least privilege and restrict who can create accounts; maintain verified offline backups of plugin-managed files and trash; enable audit logging with alerts on bulk delete, trash-empty, move, and publish/unpublish events; review logs and file timestamps for evidence of tampering during the exposure window.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 85% exploitable
Prevalence
Medium
commercial WordPress file-management plugin, widely sold but not ubiquitous
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 HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.2%
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
Partial

Priority Score

40
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +40
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

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