WordPress Automatic Plugin <= 3.53.2 — Unauthenticated Arbitrary Options Update
CVE-2021-4374Published · Updated Action summary
Affected: <3.53.3Update to 3.53.3 or newer
All remediation steps- Severity
- Critical9.1
- CVSS
- 9.1CVSS 3.1 · CNA (Wordfence)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:HWhat does this vector mean?
AV:NAttack vector- Network
AC:LAttack complexity- Low
PR:NPrivileges required- None
UI:NUser interaction- None
S:UScope- Unchanged
C:NConfidentiality- None
I:HIntegrity- High
A:HAvailability- High
- Weakness
- CWE-862 Missing Authorization
- Required access
- No account needed
- Exploit prediction (EPSS)
- No score
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
On this page8
Am I affected?
WordPress Automatic Plugin wp-automatic
- Affected< 3.53.3
- Patched in3.53.3
Update to 3.53.3 or newer.
You are affected if you run < 3.53.3. Version 3.53.3 and later are not affected by this issue.
- Check your version: in wp-admin go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and read the version under WordPress Automatic Plugin.
- No admin access? Run a passive check of your site. It reads public files only.
- No account is needed to exploit this. Treat any exposed site on an affected version as at risk.
What to do
- Update to version 3.53.3, or a newer patched version
- Rotate administrator passwords and application secrets if the site ran a vulnerable version while publicly reachable.
- Watch WordPress Automatic Plugin to get an email when the next vulnerability is published.
Advisory
Source description from Wordfence Intelligence, credited to Jerome Bruandet.
The WordPress Automatic Plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary options updates in versions up to, and including, 3.53.2. This is due to missing authorization and option validation in the process_form.php file. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to arbitrarily update the settings of a vulnerable site and ultimately compromise the entire site.
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 WordPress Automatic Plugin
All 10| Severity | Vulnerability | CVE | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| High7.2 | Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting <3.135.1Update to 3.135.1 | CVE-2026-56045 | |
| Medium4.7 | AI content generator and auto poster plugin <= 3.118.0 - Cross-Site Request Forgery to Stored Cross-Site Scripting ≤3.118.0Update to 3.119.0 | CVE-2025-6247 | |
| High8.8 | AI content generator and auto poster plugin <= 3.115.0 - Authenticated (Author+) Arbitrary File Upload ≤3.115.0Update to 3.116.0 | CVE-2025-5395 | |
| Medium6.4 | Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via autoplay Parameter ≤3.94.0Update to 3.95.0 | CVE-2024-4849 | |
| Medium5.4 | WordPress Automatic Plugin <= 3.92.1 Cross-Site Request Forgery ≤3.92.1Update to 3.93.0 | CVE-2024-32693 |
- High7.2Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting
<3.135.1Update to 3.135.1
- Medium4.7AI content generator and auto poster plugin <= 3.118.0 - Cross-Site Request Forgery to Stored Cross-Site Scripting
≤3.118.0Update to 3.119.0
- High8.8AI content generator and auto poster plugin <= 3.115.0 - Authenticated (Author+) Arbitrary File Upload
≤3.115.0Update to 3.116.0
- Medium6.4Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via autoplay Parameter
≤3.94.0Update to 3.95.0
- Medium5.4WordPress Automatic Plugin <= 3.92.1 Cross-Site Request Forgery
≤3.92.1Update to 3.93.0
Same weakness (Missing Authorization)
All Missing Authorization| 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 critical, CVSS 9.1
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.