CVE-2026-16099
Medium
Elevated severity or exploit probability.
CVSS base
8.8
HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS — probability of exploitation (30 days)
1.1%
64.2th percentile
CISA KEV
Not listed
Weakness / dates
CWE-502
Published 2026-08-16 · modified 2026-08-20
Description
The Podlove Podcast Publisher plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file deletion due to insufficient file path validation in the create_link_item function in all versions up to, and including, 4.5.3. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to delete arbitrary files on the server, which can easily lead to remote code execution when the right file is deleted (such as wp-config.php). A viable POP chain exists within the plugin itself via Podlove\ImageCache\GenerationGuard, whose __destruct() method invokes wp_delete_file() with an attacker-controlled file path populated through unserialization.
References
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress/tags/4.5.3/lib/image_cache/generation_guard.php#L19
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress/tags/4.5.3/lib/image_cache/generation_guard.php#L57
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress/tags/4.5.3/lib/model/base.php#L552
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress/tags/4.5.3/lib/modules/shownotes/rest_api.php#L538
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress/tags/4.5.3/lib/modules/shownotes/rest_api.php#L585
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress/tags/4.5.3/lib/modules/shownotes/rest_api.php#L630
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3648110%40podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress&new=3648110%40podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3aa6fd71-337f-4998-a15d-650aa4f6142c?source=cve