CVE-2026-13492

UsersWP <= 1.2.65 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary File Deletion via File Upload Field

2026-07-09 06:04
daroo

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 1.2.66
Affected Plugin
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP
Affected Version
<= 1.2.65
CVSS
8.8High
Weakness type
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVE
CVE-2026-13492
View all UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-13492 is a high-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the UsersWP WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.2.65. 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 1.2.66; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2026, reported by daroo.

Vulnerability Overview

The UsersWP plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Deletion in versions up to, and including, 1.2.65. This is due to insufficient validation of file-field values in the UsersWP_Validation::validate_fields() function (which falls through to sanitize_text_field() for fields of type 'file', leaving directory-traversal sequences intact) combined with the UsersWP_Forms::upload_file_remove() AJAX handler building the deletion target from the uploads basedir concatenated with the attacker-controlled metadata value without any realpath canonicalization or uploads-directory boundary check before calling unlink(). This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to delete arbitrary files on the affected site's server, including wp-config.

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

UsersWP <= 1.2.65 carries this weakness at file, and reaching it takes an account at Subscriber 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 UsersWP the fix is 1.2.66: builds <= 1.2.65 are affected, anything from 1.2.66 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.2.66, 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. None of that substitutes for the fix: UsersWP 1.2.66 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-13492https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/b6cf6390-480f-44e2-ae36-67e3398add33https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-13492

Related records

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