A critical security flaw in the popular WordPress plugin \u201cNinja Forms \u2013 File Upload\u201d has left approximately 50,000 websites vulnerable to complete takeover.<\/p>\n
Tracked as CVE-2026-0740, this flaw boasts a maximum CVSS severity score of 9.8, making it a severe threat that requires immediate attention from website administrators.\u200b<\/p>\n
Discovered by security researcher S\u00e9lim Lanouar, who earned a $2,145 bug bounty for the find, the vulnerability is classified as an Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Upload<\/a>.<\/p>\n In simple terms, this means that anyone on the internet can upload malicious files to a target website without needing an account, username, or password.<\/p>\n If successfully exploited, an attacker can achieve Remote Code Execution (RCE), granting them total control over the underlying web server.\u200b<\/p>\n The Ninja Forms File Upload addon is designed to manage user file submissions via the specific PHP function \u00a0handle_upload().<\/p>\n When processing these files, this function calls the\u00a0_process()\u00a0method to move the temporary uploaded files to their final destination folder on the server.<\/p>\n While the plugin attempts to verify the original uploaded file\u2019s file type, a critical oversight occurs just before the file is saved.<\/p>\n The code fails to validate the destination<\/em> filename\u2019s file extension during the\u00a0move_uploaded_file()\u00a0operation. Furthermore, the plugin lacks proper filename sanitization.<\/p>\n This dangerous combination allows a clever attacker to manipulate the file path, a technique known as path traversal.<\/p>\n By doing so, they can bypass the intended restrictions and upload highly dangerous\u00a0.php\u00a0files directly into the website\u2019s root directory, completely bypassing the normal safety checks.<\/p>\n Once a malicious PHP script, often called a webshell<\/a>, is successfully uploaded and executed, the consequences are disastrous.<\/p>\n The attacker gains the ability to execute terminal commands directly on the web server, leading to a complete site compromise.<\/p>\n \u00a0From there, threat actors can steal sensitive database information, inject malware into legitimate pages, redirect visitors to malicious spam sites<\/a>, or use the compromised server to launch further cyberattacks against other targets.\u200b<\/p>\n The vulnerability impacts all versions of the Ninja Forms File Upload plugin up to and including version 3.3.26.<\/p>\n Wordfence initially received the bug report<\/a> and quickly rolled out firewall protections for premium users on January 8, 2026, and extended those protections to free users by February 7.<\/p>\n The plugin developers worked to resolve the issue, releasing a partial fix in version 3.3.25 and a final, complete patch in version 3.3.27 on March 19, 2026.\u200b<\/p>\n If you manage a WordPress website using this specific Ninja Forms addon, it is crucial to update the plugin to version 3.3.27 or higher immediately.<\/p>\n Because this critical flaw requires no authentication and is straightforward for attackers to exploit, unpatched sites remain easy targets for automated web-scanning scripts.<\/p>\n Follow us on Google News<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a>, and X<\/a> for daily cybersecurity updates. Contact us<\/a> to feature your stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n The post 50,000 WordPress Sites Exposed to Critical Ninja Forms File Upload RCE Vulnerability<\/a> appeared first on Cyber Security News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n50,000 WordPress Sites Exposed<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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