Live Exposure Defense: From CVE to Confirmed Exposure in 12 Hours – See more

Back
New CVE Detected

CVE-2026-81402 – Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Upload / RCE – DS Ad Rotator WordPress Plugin ≤ 0.8

Be the first to know when new zero-days emerge:

Subscribe to Email Alerts
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Summary

CVE-2026-81402 is a critical unauthenticated arbitrary file upload vulnerability in the DS Ad Rotator WordPress plugin, versions up to and including 0.8. The plugin’s image upload handler performs no capability check, nonce verification, or file-type validation, allowing any unauthenticated attacker to upload arbitrary files — including PHP scripts — to a web-accessible directory. Successful exploitation can lead to full remote code execution and complete site takeover, and the vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical).

Technical details

  • Root cause: The plugin’s image upload handler does not validate the requesting user’s WordPress capabilities, does not verify a nonce/CSRF token, and does not restrict uploaded file types (extension or MIME type) to safe image formats.
  • Trigger conditions: An attacker sends a crafted upload request directly to the vulnerable handler; no authentication, prior session, or user interaction is required.
  • Attack vector: Network — the upload endpoint is reachable over HTTP(S) without authentication (AV:N, PR:N, UI:N).
  • Impact: An attacker can upload a malicious PHP file disguised with or without an image extension to a web-accessible directory and subsequently execute it, resulting in remote code execution, full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected WordPress site.

Affected software

  • DS Ad Rotator WordPress plugin, versions 0 through 0.8 (all released versions at time of disclosure)

Severity

  • CVSS v3.1 Base Score: 9.8 (Critical)
  • Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate: No patched version of DS Ad Rotator has been released as of the vulnerability’s publication. Site owners should deactivate and remove the plugin immediately.
  • If removal is not immediately possible:
    • Block or restrict access to the plugin’s upload handler/endpoint at the web server or WAF layer.
    • Configure the web server to deny PHP execution within the plugin’s upload directory (e.g., via .htaccess or nginx location rules disabling script execution for that path), preventing execution of any uploaded malicious files.
    • Monitor uploads directories for unexpected .php or other executable files and remove any found.
    • Continue monitoring for an official vendor patch and apply it as soon as one is released.

References

Are you exposed?

Get a free report of your organization’s exposure to this CVE and threat

  • Mapping of all Assets with this Technology
  • Identification of potentially exposed assets to this CVE
  • Confirmation of verified exploitable assets
Get Exposure Report

How IONIX’s External Exposure Management Platform Detects and Validates
Zero-Days to Shrink MTTR

1

Map your entire attack surface (continously)

IONIX uses multi-factor discovery methods, including DNS analysis, certificate mapping, metadata inspection, and more, to automatically map every internet-facing asset across your environment. This includes cloud instances, third-party platforms, shadow IT, and even forgotten infrastructure that traditional tools miss.

2

Monitor for new CVEs

Dozens of threat intel feeds using agentic technology are continuously analyzed to detect the appearance of proof-of-concept code, exploit kits, and indicators of active targeting. IONIX goes further by applying AI to proactively evaluate whether emerging vulnerabilities are likely to be exploited, even before PoCs go public.

3

Identify Potential External Exposures

Not all CVEs matter. IONIX filters vulnerabilities by asking attacker-centric questions: Can it be reached from the internet? Does it require authentication? Is it being exploited in the wild? This dramatically reduces noise and focuses teams on threats that can actually be weaponized.

4

Create Safe, Scalable Exploit Validations

IONIX transforms real-world PoCs into safe, non-intrusive test payloads that can be run in production environments without disruption. These simulations are precisely targeted to the systems that are vulnerable, ensuring rapid validation without unnecessary load.

5

Execute Exploit Validations

By combining context about software stack, versioning, exposure status, and reachability, IONIX ensures that only the right payloads are executed against the right assets, maximizing efficiency and minimizing risk.

6

Drive Fast and Actionable Remediation

Results are routed through integrations with ticketing, SOAR, and SIEM tools. Issues are written in plain language, bundled into remediation clusters, and prioritized based on asset criticality, exploitability, and blast radius. This shortens mean time to remediation (MTTR) and empowers teams to act with confidence.

Are you exposed?

Get a free report of your organization’s exposure to this CVE and threat

  • Mapping of all Assets with this Technology
  • Identification of potentially exposed assets to this CVE
  • Confirmation of verified exploitable assets
Get Exposure Report
Close

Subscribe to Threat Center RSS

Copy/paste the link below into your preferred RSS reader or follow these instructions to subscribe to Slack alerts.

Open RSS feedSlack setup instructions

Close

Get Real-Time CVE Alerts to Your Email

Be the first to know when new zero-days emerge