CM Map Locations <= 2.1.8 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary File Upload via cmloc_route_image_upload AJAX Action
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.1.9
- Affected Version
<= 2.1.8- CVSS
- 8.8High
- Weakness type
- CWE-434 · Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type
- CVE
CVE-2026-16601
At a glance
CVE-2026-16601 is a high-severity Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type vulnerability in the CM Map Locations WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.1.8. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 2.1.9; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2026, reported by Spy0x7.
Vulnerability Overview
The CM Map Locations – Visualize and share your locations in a few clicks plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Limited Arbitrary File Upload in all versions up to, and including, 2.1.8 via the uploadMedia function. This is due to insufficient file type validation in the upload handler, which performs incomplete extension filtering without MIME-type checks or upload capability verification before passing attacker-supplied files to move_uploaded_file(). This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to upload files that may be executable, which makes remote code execution possible. The required nonce is exposed to any logged-in Subscriber via the CMLOC_Editor_Images JavaScript object on the front-end location editor page.
Technical Analysis
The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-434: Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type
CM Map Locations <= 2.1.8 carries this weakness at move_uploaded_file(), and reaching it takes an account at Subscriber level or above. An unrestricted file upload lets a caller store a file whose type or destination the application does not properly constrain.
If an uploaded file lands anywhere the server will execute, the flaw becomes remote code execution and the site should be treated as fully compromised. For CM Map Locations the fix is 2.1.9: builds <= 2.1.8 are affected, anything from 2.1.9 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.1.9, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Subscriber access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. Classes like this one can leave something behind, so the staged malware scanner is the second half: it looks for dropped files and modified code rather than for the request that created them. None of that substitutes for the fix: CM Map Locations 2.1.9 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in CM Map Locations – Visualize and share your locations in a few clicks
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C