WP STAGING <= 4.19.0 — Authenticated (Administrator+) Arbitrary Directory Deletion via 'deleteDir' Parameter

Am I affected?

• Check your version: in wp-admin go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and read the version under WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups.
• No admin access? Run a passive check of your site. It reads public files only.

What to do

1. Update to version 4.20.0, or a newer patched version
2. Rotate administrator passwords and application secrets if the site ran a vulnerable version while publicly reachable.
3. Watch WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups to get an email when the next vulnerability is published.

Advisory

Source description from Wordfence Intelligence, credited to Wordfence PRISM.

The WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary Directory Deletion in all versions up to, and including, 4.19.0. This is due to insufficient path validation in the `cleanStagingDirectory` function, where the `deleteDir` parameter is only stripped of whitespace and double slashes by `sanitizePath()` without removing `..` traversal sequences or enforcing containment within the staging directory, leaving the sole pre-deletion guard as a simple string equality check against the WordPress home path. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with administrator-level access and above, to recursively delete arbitrary directories on the server — including `wp-content`, `wp-admin`, or directories outside the WordPress installation on shared hosting — resulting in denial of service or permanent data loss. An attacker must sequence a clone start, cancellation, and restart to drive the `delete_job` cache into the `directory` step before re-cancelling with a manipulated `deleteDir` value supplied via the `wp_ajax_wpstg_cancel_clone` endpoint.

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

Timeline

1. Nov 12, 2026

   CVE published

   Severity low, CVSS 2.7

2. Nov 13, 2026

   Record last updated