{"id":"CVE-2018-12895","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2018-12895","generatedAt":"2026-10-28T21:21:36.323Z","title":"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.","description":"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.","published":"2018-06-26T20:29:00.000Z","lastModified":"2026-06-17T01:38:32.000Z","status":"Modified","sourceIdentifier":"cve@mitre.org","cvss":{"version":"3.1","score":8.8,"severity":"HIGH","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"},"cwe":["CWE-22"],"affected":["wordpress/wordpress","debian/debian linux"],"epss":{"score":0.62162,"percentile":0.99175,"date":"2026-10-27","history":[]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":0,"verified":false,"firstPublished":null,"source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[]},"verdict":{"level":"urgent","text":"EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 62.2%, higher than 99% of all known CVEs. Patch or mitigate before the next change window."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/164633/WordPress-4.9.6-Arbitrary-File-Deletion.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/104569","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://blog.ripstech.com/2018/wordpress-file-delete-to-code-execution/","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/07/msg00046.html","tags":["Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9100","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4250","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/164633/WordPress-4.9.6-Arbitrary-File-Deletion.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/104569","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://blog.ripstech.com/2018/wordpress-file-delete-to-code-execution/","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/07/msg00046.html","tags":["Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9100","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4250","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12895","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}