AR for WordPress <= 8.40 — Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Read via 'file' Parameter
CVE-2026-14327Published · Updated Action summary
Affected: ≤8.40Update to 8.41 or newer
All remediation steps- Severity
- High7.5
- CVSS
- 7.5CVSS 3.1 · CNA (Wordfence)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:NWhat does this vector mean?
AV:NAttack vector- Network
AC:LAttack complexity- Low
PR:NPrivileges required- None
UI:NUser interaction- None
S:UScope- Unchanged
C:HConfidentiality- High
I:NIntegrity- None
A:NAvailability- None
- Weakness
- CWE-22 Path Traversal
- Required access
- No account needed
- Exploit prediction (EPSS)
- No score
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
On this page8
Am I affected?
AR for WordPress ar-for-wordpress
- Affected≤ 8.40
- Patched in8.41
Update to 8.41 or newer.
You are affected if you run ≤ 8.40. Version 8.41 and later are not affected by this issue.
- Check your version: in wp-admin go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and read the version under AR for WordPress.
- 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 8.41, or a newer patched version
- Rotate administrator passwords and application secrets if the site ran a vulnerable version while publicly reachable.
- Watch AR for WordPress to get an email when the next vulnerability is published.
Advisory
Source description from Wordfence Intelligence, credited to CHOIGYEONGMIN.
The AR for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Directory Traversal in all versions up to, and including, 8.40 via the 'file' parameter parameter. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to read the contents of arbitrary files on the server, which can contain sensitive information. Exploitation requires an attacker to first obtain a valid nonce and secure nonce via the publicly accessible ar_get_fresh_nonce and ar_process_user_image nopriv AJAX handlers, and to reproduce the encryption key locally — both steps are fully achievable by an unauthenticated attacker on any default free or unlicensed installation where ar_licence_key is unset.
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 AR for WordPress
All 5| Severity | Vulnerability | CVE | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium4.3 | Cross-Site Request Forgery ≤8.44Update to 8.45 | CVE-2025-60156 | |
| Medium6.4 | Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ≤7.7Update to 7.8 | CVE-2025-26913 | |
| Low3.7 | Missing Authorization to Unauthenticated Limited File Upload ≤7.3Update to 7.4 | CVE-2024-12300 | |
| Critical9.8 | Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Upload ≤6.6Update to 7.0 | CVE-2024-50496 |
- Medium4.3Cross-Site Request Forgery
≤8.44Update to 8.45
- Medium6.4Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting
≤7.7Update to 7.8
- Low3.7Missing Authorization to Unauthenticated Limited File Upload
≤7.3Update to 7.4
- Critical9.8Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Upload
≤6.6Update to 7.0
Same weakness (Path Traversal)
All Path Traversal| 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 7.5
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.