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CVE-2026-11912 – Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Modification and Deletion – Simple File List Word…

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Summary

CVE-2026-11912 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability (CWE-862) in the Simple File List plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 6.3.7. Rated HIGH severity with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5, the flaw enables fully unauthenticated remote attackers to modify and delete arbitrary files on the server — including critical files such as wp-config.php — with no credentials and no user interaction required. A public proof-of-concept has been published. The vendor released a patched version (6.3.8) on June 19, 2026, and immediate upgrading is strongly recommended.

Technical details

  • Root cause: The plugin registers its simplefilelist_edit_job AJAX handler on both the authenticated (wp_ajax_) and unauthenticated (wp_ajax_nopriv_) WordPress hooks. The authorization guard relies on is_admin(), which always returns false during AJAX requests, causing it to short-circuit before any proper capability check — or the AllowFrontManage administrator setting — is ever evaluated.
  • Trigger conditions: No authentication, special configuration, or user interaction is required. The flaw is exploitable in all default installations regardless of whether AllowFrontManage has been enabled by the site administrator.
  • Attack vector: An unauthenticated remote attacker extracts a valid nonce from the plugin’s publicly accessible frontend HTML source, then sends crafted POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with the simplefilelist_edit_job action to perform arbitrary file operations on the server.
  • Impact: Unauthenticated arbitrary file modification and deletion. Path traversal in filename parameters allows attackers to target files outside the plugin’s storage directory, including wp-config.php. Deletion of wp-config.php triggers WordPress’s reinstallation flow, which can be weaponized for full site takeover. Modification of existing files can be used to plant malicious content.

Affected software

  • Simple File List WordPress Plugin: all versions up to and including 6.3.7

Severity

  • CVSS v3.1 Base Score: 7.5 (HIGH)
  • Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate: Upgrade to Simple File List version 6.3.8 or later. The 6.3.8 release replaces the broken is_admin() authorization guard with a proper current_user_can('manage_options') capability check in the front-end file management handler, adds a realpath() confinement check as defense-in-depth against path traversal, and restricts the eeSubFolder POST parameter that previously expanded the path traversal attack surface.
  • If immediate patching is not feasible: Disable the plugin entirely until the upgrade can be applied. As an additional measure, restrict unauthenticated access to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php at the web server or WAF level.

IONIX Status

The IONIX research team is tracking ongoing exploitation attempts and recommends immediate patching. Potentially affected assets are outlined in this post.

References

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