CVE-2026-16618

CVEs › CVE-2026-16618

Description

The Improve SEO WordPress plugin through 2.0.11 does not properly validate uploaded files, checking only the file content type while writing the file with the attacker-supplied extension into a publicly accessible directory, allowing unauthenticated users to upload executable PHP files and achieve remote code execution.

Overview

State: PUBLISHED
Assigner (CNA): WPScan
CVSS severity: —
CVSS score: —
CVSS vector: —
Effective score: no score available from CNA, NVD, or AI yet
CWE(s): CWE-434 Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type
Reserved: 2026-07-22
Published: 2026-08-04 06:00 UTC
Last updated: 2026-08-04 17:40 UTC
Source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/main/cves/2026/16xxx/CVE-2026-16618.json

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Affected products (1)

Vendor	Product	Versions	Platforms
Unknown	Improve SEO	`0` (affected)	—

Vendor references (1)

References embedded in the original CVE record by the assigning CNA.

https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/3754d4c0-1b67-49a4-a29a-7169446638d1/ exploitvdb-entrytechnical-description

Web references (0)

DuckDuckGo results ranked by threat-intel / vendor advisory domains. Generated by the 🔎 Find references (web) button above — same flow as the Remediations search.

No web references attached yet.

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Raw JSON

The full cvelistV5 record. Download as CVE-2026-16618.json.

{
  "containers": {
    "adp": [
      {
        "metrics": [
          {
            "cvssV3_1": {
              "attackComplexity": "LOW",
              "attackVector": "NETWORK",
              "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
              "baseScore": 9.8,
              "baseSeverity": "CRITICAL",
              "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
              "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
              "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
              "scope": "UNCHANGED",
              "userInteraction": "NONE",
              "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
              "version": "3.1"
            }
          },
          {
            "other": {
              "content": {
                "id": "CVE-2026-16618",
                "options": [
                  {
                    "Exploitation": "none"
                  },
                  {
                    "Automatable": "yes"
                  },
                  {
                    "Technical Impact": "total"
                  }
                ],
                "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                "timestamp": "2026-08-04T17:39:47.820539Z",
                "version": "2.0.3"
              },
              "type": "ssvc"
            }
          }
        ],
        "problemTypes": [
          {
            "descriptions": [
              {
                "cweId": "CWE-434",
                "description": "CWE-434 Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type",
                "lang": "en",
                "type": "CWE"
              }
            ]
          }
        ],
        "providerMetadata": {
          "dateUpdated": "2026-08-04T17:40:09.473Z",
          "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
          "shortName": "CISA-ADP"
        },
        "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
      }
    ],
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unknown",
          "product": "Improve SEO",
          "vendor": "Unknown",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "2.0.11",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "credits": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "type": "finder",
          "value": "Jo\u00e3o Ramos Maciel"
        },
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "type": "coordinator",
          "value": "WPScan"
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "The Improve SEO WordPress plugin through 2.0.11 does not properly validate uploaded files, checking only the file content type while writing the file with the attacker-supplied extension into a publicly accessible directory, allowing unauthenticated users to upload executable PHP files and achieve remote code execution."
        }
      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "description": "CWE-434 Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-08-04T06:00:08.334Z",
        "orgId": "1bfdd5d7-9bf6-4a53-96ea-42e2716d7a81",
        "shortName": "WPScan"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "tags": [
            "exploit",
            "vdb-entry",
            "technical-description"
          ],
          "url": "https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/3754d4c0-1b67-49a4-a29a-7169446638d1/"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "discovery": "EXTERNAL"
      },
      "title": "ImproveSEO <= 2.0.11 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Upload Leading to Remote Code Execution",
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "WPScan CVE Generator"
      }
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "1bfdd5d7-9bf6-4a53-96ea-42e2716d7a81",
    "assignerShortName": "WPScan",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-16618",
    "datePublished": "2026-08-04T06:00:08.334Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-07-22T14:45:28.693Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-08-04T17:40:09.473Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2"
}