Vulnerability-Lookup

GHSA-3QRW-968G-4HQV

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-08-19 06:31 – Updated: 2026-08-19 18:32

Details

The W3 Total Cache WordPress plugin before 2.10.5 does not properly validate the request path it uses to build cache file names, allowing unauthenticated attackers to write a file into any existing directory on the server, inside or outside the web root, overwriting whatever occupies the target name. On Apache, the same flaw overwrites the site's .htaccess files, which breaks the site and can strip hardening rules that other security measures rely on.

Severity

10.0 (Critical)


                  
                    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H

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{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-18051"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-22"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-08-19T06:17:36Z",
    "severity": "CRITICAL"
  },
  "details": "The W3 Total Cache WordPress plugin before 2.10.5 does not properly validate the request path it uses to build cache file names, allowing unauthenticated attackers to write a file into any existing directory on the server, inside or outside the web root, overwriting whatever occupies the target name.\nOn Apache, the same flaw overwrites the site\u0027s .htaccess files, which breaks the site and can strip hardening rules that other security measures rely on.",
  "id": "GHSA-3qrw-968g-4hqv",
  "modified": "2026-08-19T18:32:43Z",
  "published": "2026-08-19T06:31:17Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-18051"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/dc56cdd2-419b-4a64-9d2a-29dc7e79cb6d"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

CVE-2026-18051 (GCVE-0-2026-18051)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-08-19 06:00 – Updated: 2026-08-19 16:44

Title

W3 Total Cache < 2.10.5 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary Directory File Write and .htaccess Overwrite via Path Traversal in the Page Cache Key

Summary

Severity

10 (Critical)


                        
                          CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H

SSVC

Exploitation: none Automatable: yes Technical Impact: total

CISA Coordinator · CISA-ADP (v2.0.3)

Decision recorded 2026-08-19 16:42 UTC

CWE

CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CWE-22 - Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

Assigner

WPScan mitre root

References

1 reference

URL	Tags
https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/dc56cdd2-419b-4a…	exploitvdb-entrytechnical-description

Impacted products

1 product

Vendor	Product	Version
Unknown	W3 Total Cache	Affected: 0 , < 2.10.5 (semver)

Credits

Jakub Herman WPScan

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JSON

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{
  "containers": {
    "adp": [
      {
        "metrics": [
          {
            "cvssV3_1": {
              "attackComplexity": "LOW",
              "attackVector": "NETWORK",
              "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
              "baseScore": 10,
              "baseSeverity": "CRITICAL",
              "confidentialityImpact": "NONE",
              "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
              "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
              "scope": "CHANGED",
              "userInteraction": "NONE",
              "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H",
              "version": "3.1"
            }
          },
          {
            "other": {
              "content": {
                "id": "CVE-2026-18051",
                "options": [
                  {
                    "Exploitation": "none"
                  },
                  {
                    "Automatable": "yes"
                  },
                  {
                    "Technical Impact": "total"
                  }
                ],
                "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                "timestamp": "2026-08-19T16:42:35.731993Z",
                "version": "2.0.3"
              },
              "type": "ssvc"
            }
          }
        ],
        "problemTypes": [
          {
            "descriptions": [
              {
                "cweId": "CWE-22",
                "description": "CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory (\u0027Path Traversal\u0027)",
                "lang": "en",
                "type": "CWE"
              }
            ]
          }
        ],
        "providerMetadata": {
          "dateUpdated": "2026-08-19T16:44:12.841Z",
          "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
          "shortName": "CISA-ADP"
        },
        "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
      }
    ],
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "W3 Total Cache",
          "vendor": "Unknown",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThan": "2.10.5",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "credits": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "type": "finder",
          "value": "Jakub Herman"
        },
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "type": "coordinator",
          "value": "WPScan"
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "The W3 Total Cache WordPress plugin before 2.10.5 does not properly validate the request path it uses to build cache file names, allowing unauthenticated attackers to write a file into any existing directory on the server, inside or outside the web root, overwriting whatever occupies the target name.\nOn Apache, the same flaw overwrites the site\u0027s .htaccess files, which breaks the site and can strip hardening rules that other security measures rely on."
        }
      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "description": "CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory (\u0027Path Traversal\u0027)",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-08-19T06:00:18.573Z",
        "orgId": "1bfdd5d7-9bf6-4a53-96ea-42e2716d7a81",
        "shortName": "WPScan"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "tags": [
            "exploit",
            "vdb-entry",
            "technical-description"
          ],
          "url": "https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/dc56cdd2-419b-4a64-9d2a-29dc7e79cb6d/"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "discovery": "EXTERNAL"
      },
      "title": "W3 Total Cache \u003c 2.10.5 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary Directory File Write and .htaccess Overwrite via Path Traversal in the Page Cache Key",
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "WPScan CVE Generator"
      }
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "1bfdd5d7-9bf6-4a53-96ea-42e2716d7a81",
    "assignerShortName": "WPScan",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-18051",
    "datePublished": "2026-08-19T06:00:18.573Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-07-28T12:02:07.571Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-08-19T16:44:12.841Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2"
}

Sightings

Author	Source	Type	Date	Other

Nomenclature

Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.

Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.

The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base model, served locally by ML-Gateway. They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.

Action not permitted

GHSA-3QRW-968G-4HQV

CVE-2026-18051 (GCVE-0-2026-18051)

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Sightings

Nomenclature