WordPress Popular Posts <= 5.3.2 — Authenticated Arbitrary File Upload
CVE-2021-42362Published · Updated Action summary
Affected: ≤5.3.2Update to 5.3.3 or newer
All remediation steps- Severity
- High8.8
- CVSS
- 8.8CVSS 3.1 · CNA (Wordfence)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HWhat does this vector mean?
AV:NAttack vector- Network
AC:LAttack complexity- Low
PR:LPrivileges required- Low
UI:NUser interaction- None
S:UScope- Unchanged
C:HConfidentiality- High
I:HIntegrity- High
A:HAvailability- High
- Weakness
- CWE-434 Arbitrary File Upload
- Required access
- Unknown
- Exploit prediction (EPSS)
- No score
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
On this page8
Am I affected?
WP Popular Posts wordpress-popular-posts
- Affected≤ 5.3.2
- Patched in5.3.3
Update to 5.3.3 or newer.
You are affected if you run ≤ 5.3.2. Version 5.3.3 and later are not affected by this issue.
- Check your version: in wp-admin go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and read the version under WP Popular Posts.
- No admin access? Run a passive check of your site. It reads public files only.
What to do
- Update to version 5.3.3, or a newer patched version
- Rotate administrator passwords and application secrets if the site ran a vulnerable version while publicly reachable.
- Watch WP Popular Posts to get an email when the next vulnerability is published.
Advisory
Source description from Wordfence Intelligence, credited to Jerome Bruandet.
The WordPress Popular Posts WordPress plugin is vulnerable to arbitrary file uploads due to insufficient input file type validation found in the ~/src/Image.php file which makes it possible for attackers with contributor level access and above to upload malicious files that can be used to obtain remote code execution, in versions up to and including 5.3.2.
Exploits & references
Proof-of-concept & detection
No public proof-of-concept or detection template is known for this vulnerability.
Advisories & patches
- Advisorywordfence.com
Related CVEs
More in WP Popular Posts
All 8| Severity | Vulnerability | CVE | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium5.3 | Unauthenticated Information Disclosure in 'post_type' and 'context' Parameters ≤7.4.2Update to 7.4.3 | CVE-2026-92548 | |
| High7.3 | Unauthenticated Arbitrary Shortcode Execution ≤7.1.0Update to 7.2.0 | CVE-2024-11733 | |
| Medium6.4 | Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Shortcode <6.3.3Update to 6.3.3 | CVE-2023-45607 | |
| Medium5.3 | Unauthenticated Views Changes ≤6.0.5Update to 6.1.0 | CVE-2022-43468 | |
| Medium6.1 | Reflected Cross-Site Scripting ≤5.5.1Update to 6.0.0 | — |
- Medium5.3Unauthenticated Information Disclosure in 'post_type' and 'context' Parameters
≤7.4.2Update to 7.4.3
- High7.3Unauthenticated Arbitrary Shortcode Execution
≤7.1.0Update to 7.2.0
- Medium6.4Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Shortcode
<6.3.3Update to 6.3.3
- Medium5.3Unauthenticated Views Changes
≤6.0.5Update to 6.1.0
- Medium6.1Reflected Cross-Site Scripting
≤5.5.1Update to 6.0.0
Same weakness (Arbitrary File Upload)
All Arbitrary File Upload| Severity | Vulnerability | CVE | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| High7.2 | Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Comment User-Agent Header | CVE-2026-120688 | |
| Critical9.8 | Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Upload via File Upload via Public Form Submission | CVE-2026-125055 | |
| Critical9.8 | Unauthenticated PHP Object Injection to Remote Code Execution via 'form' Parameter | CVE-2026-119077 | |
| Medium5.3 | Unauthenticated Sensitive Information Exposure in 'search' Parameter | CVE-2026-121518 |
- High7.2Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Comment User-Agent Header
EZ SQL Reports Shortcode Widget and DB Backup
≤5.25.25Update to 5.26.45
- Critical9.8Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Upload via File Upload via Public Form Submission
Chatterbug Forms – Fast, Flexible WordPress Form Builder
≤1.0.2Update to 1.1
- Critical9.8Unauthenticated PHP Object Injection to Remote Code Execution via 'form' Parameter
ELEX WordPress HelpDesk & Customer Ticketing System
≤3.3.9Update to 3.4.0
- Medium5.3Unauthenticated Sensitive Information Exposure in 'search' Parameter
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce
≤5.127.0Update to 5.128.0
Timeline
CVE published
Severity high, CVSS 8.8
Record last updated
Sources & licenses
Wordfence record- Vulnerability data
- Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. Licensed under the CC BY-SA 4.0.
- CVE® identifiers
- Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. Used under the CVE Program. CVE® is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation.
- CVSS / CWE
- National Vulnerability Database (NVD), shown unmodified. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- VulnCrest content
- Summary, remediation guidance and page layout © VulnCrest. Not sourced from NVD.