CVE-2026-74853

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 3.3 - 3.3.9.1 - Authenticated (Author+) Arbitrary File Read

2026-09-04 00:00
Erwan LR

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.3.9.2
Affected Plugin
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields
Affected Version
3.3 – 3.3.9.1
CVSS
6.5Medium
Weakness type
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVE
CVE-2026-74853
View all Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-74853 is a medium-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the Pods WordPress plugin, affecting versions 3.3 – 3.3.9.1. It carries a CVSS score of 6.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Author level or above. The issue is fixed in version 3.3.9.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2026, reported by Erwan LR.

Vulnerability Overview

The Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Read in versions 3.3 through 3.3.9.1. This is due to insufficient validation of a user supplied path. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with author-level access and above, to read arbitrary files on the server, including sensitive configuration files.

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.

CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

Reaching this weakness in Pods 3.3 – 3.3.9.1 takes an account at Author level or above. Path traversal happens when user-controlled text is used to build a filesystem path without being constrained to an intended directory, so sequences like ../ walk the resolved path somewhere else.

Depending on the operation, it means reading files outside the intended folder — wp-config.php being the usual target — or writing to and deleting paths the web server can touch. For Pods the fix is 3.3.9.2: builds 3.3 – 3.3.9.1 are affected, anything from 3.3.9.2 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.3.9.2, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

An attacker needs Author 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. None of that substitutes for the fix: Pods 3.3.9.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74853https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/988ba837-4711-4111-bbd1-6edaac663810https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74853

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C