Podlove Podcast Publisher <= 4.5.3 - Authenticated (Contributor+) PHP Object Injection to Arbitrary File Deletion via 'unfurl_data' Parameter
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 4.5.4
- Affected Plugin
- Podlove Podcast Publisher
- Affected Version
<= 4.5.3- CVSS
- 8.8High
- Weakness type
- CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data
- CVE
CVE-2026-16099
At a glance
CVE-2026-16099 is a high-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in the Podlove Podcast Publisher WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 4.5.3. 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 Contributor level or above. The issue is fixed in version 4.5.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2026, reported by Wordfence PRISM.
Vulnerability Overview
The Podlove Podcast Publisher plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file deletion due to insufficient file path validation in the create_link_item function in all versions up to, and including, 4.5.3. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to delete arbitrary files on the server, which can easily lead to remote code execution when the right file is deleted (such as wp-config.php). A viable POP chain exists within the plugin itself via Podlove\ImageCache\GenerationGuard, whose __destruct() method invokes wp_delete_file() with an attacker-controlled file path populated through unserialization.
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-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Podlove Podcast Publisher <= 4.5.3 carries this weakness at __destruct(), and reaching it takes an account at Contributor level or above. Deserialization of untrusted data means the application reconstructs objects from input a caller controls, letting the attacker choose which classes get instantiated and what their properties hold.
A workable chain turns deserialization into file writes, deletions or code execution, depending on what the loaded classes do in their magic methods. For Podlove Podcast Publisher the fix is 4.5.4: builds <= 4.5.3 are affected, anything from 4.5.4 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 4.5.4, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Contributor 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: Podlove Podcast Publisher 4.5.4 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Podlove Podcast Publisher
- 9.9CVE-2024-32139: Podlove Podcast Publisher <= 4.0.12 SQL Injection
CVE-2024-32139 - 9.8CVE-2026-13001: Podlove Podcast Publisher Arbitrary File Upload
CVE-2026-13001 - 9.8CVE-2025-10147: Podlove Podcast Publisher Arbitrary File Upload
CVE-2025-10147 - 9.8CVE-2021-24666: Podlove Podcast Publisher <= 3.5.5 SQL Injection
CVE-2021-24666 - 8.8CVE-2024-43984: Podlove Podcast Publisher CSRF
CVE-2024-43984 - 8.8CVE-2016-10942: Podlove Podcast Publisher < 2.3.16 SQL Injection
CVE-2016-10942 - 8.8CVE-2016-10941: Podlove Podcast Publisher CSRF to Cross-Site Scripting
CVE-2016-10941 - 8.0CVE-2017-12949: Podlove Podcast Publisher <= 2.5.3 SQL Injection
CVE-2017-12949
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C