wpeverest Everest Forms Plugin up to 3.4.4 on WordPress unlink old_files path traversal

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in wpeverest Everest Forms Plugin up to 3.4.4 on WordPress. The affected element is the function unlink. Performing a manipulation of the argument old_files results in path traversal. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-5478. The attack may be initiated remotely. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in wpeverest Everest Forms Plugin up to 3.4.4 on WordPress. This affects the function unlink. The manipulation of the argument old_files with an unknown input leads to a path traversal vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-22. The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

The Everest Forms plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Read and Deletion in all versions up to, and including, 3.4.4. This is due to the plugin trusting attacker-controlled old_files data from public form submissions as legitimate server-side upload state, and converting attacker-supplied URLs into local filesystem paths using regex-based string replacement without canonicalization or directory boundary enforcement. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary local files (e.g., wp-config.php) by injecting path-traversal payloads into the old_files upload field parameter, which are then attached to notification emails. The same path resolution is also used in the post-email cleanup routine, which calls unlink() on the resolved path, resulting in the targeted file being deleted after being attached. This can lead to full site compromise through disclosure of database credentials and authentication salts from wp-config.php, and denial of service through deletion of critical files. Prerequisite: The form must contain a file-upload or image-upload field, and disable storing entry information.

The weakness was presented by ll. The advisory is shared at wordfence.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-5478 since 04/03/2026. The exploitability is told to be difficult. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 04/20/2026). MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1006 for this issue.

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2026-23941). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• WordPress Plugin

Vendor

• wpeverest

Name

• Everest Forms Plugin

Version

• 3.4.0
• 3.4.1
• 3.4.2
• 3.4.3
• 3.4.4

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
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CPE 2.2info

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Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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