CVE-2016-6896
Directory traversal vulnerability in the wp_ajax_update_plugin function in wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php in WordPress 4.5.3 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service or read certain text files via a ..
Does this matter?
EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 38.1%, higher than 99% of all known CVEs. Patch or mitigate before the next change window.
Description
Directory traversal vulnerability in the wp_ajax_update_plugin function in wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php in WordPress 4.5.3 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service or read certain text files via a .. (dot dot) in the plugin parameter to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php, as demonstrated by /dev/random read operations that deplete the entropy pool.
- CVSS 3.0
- 7.1 HIGHCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
- EPSS
- 38.07% probability · 99th percentile
- Public exploits
- 1 in Exploit-DB · verified · first 22 August 2016
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-22
- Affected
- wordpress/wordpress
- Source
- cve@mitre.org
EPSS moved from 31.1% on 21 September 2026 to 38.1% on 27 October 2026. The dashed line is the ten per cent mark our analysts treat as “patch before the next change window”.
Public exploits (1)
Entries in Exploit-DB that cite this CVE. Links go to the Exploit-DB page and to the file in the public repository; nothing is hosted here. A verified tick means the Exploit-DB team confirmed the exploit works against the stated version.
References
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/08/20/1Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036683
- https://sumofpwn.nl/advisory/2016/path_traversal_vulnerability_in_wordpress_core_ajax_handlers.htmlExploit, Technical Description, Third Party Advisory
- https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/8606
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40288/
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/08/20/1Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036683
- https://sumofpwn.nl/advisory/2016/path_traversal_vulnerability_in_wordpress_core_ajax_handlers.htmlExploit, Technical Description, Third Party Advisory
- https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/8606
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40288/
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.