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Vulnerability details: VCID-bqma-z617-cbcz
Vulnerability ID VCID-bqma-z617-cbcz
Aliases CVE-2018-12895
Summary WordPress through 4.9.6 allows Author users to execute arbitrary code by leveraging directory traversal in the wp-admin/post.php thumb parameter, which is passed to the PHP unlink function and can delete the wp-config.php file. This is related to missing filename validation in the wp-includes/post.php wp_delete_attachment function. The attacker must have capabilities for files and posts that are normally available only to the Author, Editor, and Administrator roles. The attack methodology is to delete wp-config.php and then launch a new installation process to increase the attacker's privileges.
Status Published
Exploitability 0.5
Weighted Severity 7.9
Risk 4.0
Affected and Fixed Packages Package Details
Weaknesses (1)
CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
System Score Found at
epss 0.20448 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.20448 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.20448 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.36512 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.39392 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.39392 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
epss 0.39392 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
cvssv2 6.5 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12895
cvssv3.1 8.8 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12895
Reference id Reference type URL
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/164633/WordPress-4.9.6-Arbitrary-File-Deletion.html
https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2018-12895
https://blog.ripstech.com/2018/wordpress-file-delete-to-code-execution/
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-12895
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/07/msg00046.html
https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9100
https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4250
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/104569
902876 https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=902876
cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/search/results?adv_search=true&isCpeNameSearch=true&query=cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/search/results?adv_search=true&isCpeNameSearch=true&query=cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/search/results?adv_search=true&isCpeNameSearch=true&query=cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2018-12895 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12895
Data source Metasploit
Description An arbitrary file deletion vulnerability in the WordPress core allows any user with privileges of an Author to completely take over the WordPress site and to execute arbitrary code on the server.
Note 
Reliability:
  - unknown-reliability
Stability:
  - unknown-stability
SideEffects:
  - unknown-side-effects
Ransomware campaign use Unknown
Source publication date June 26, 2018
Platform PHP
Source URL https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/tree/master/modules/auxiliary/scanner/http/wp_arbitrary_file_deletion.rb
Vector: AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P Found at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12895
Exploitability (E) Access Vector (AV) Access Complexity (AC) Authentication (Au) Confidentiality Impact (C) Integrity Impact (I) Availability Impact (A)

high

functional

unproven

proof_of_concept

not_defined

local

adjacent_network

network

high

medium

low

multiple

single

none

none

partial

complete

none

partial

complete

none

partial

complete
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Found at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12895
Attack Vector (AV) Attack Complexity (AC) Privileges Required (PR) User Interaction (UI) Scope (S) Confidentiality Impact (C) Integrity Impact (I) Availability Impact (A)

network

adjacent_network

local

physical

low

high

none

low

high

none

required

unchanged

changed

high

low

none

high

low

none

high

low

none
Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)
Percentile 0.95348
EPSS Score 0.20448
Published At Aug. 1, 2025, 12:55 p.m.
Date Actor Action Source VulnerableCode Version
2025-07-31T09:57:34.226826+00:00 NVD Importer Import https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12895 37.0.0