InstaWP Connect Plugin up to 0.1.3.6 on WordPress options-{migrate_key}.txt migrate_key exposure of information through directory listing

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in InstaWP Connect Plugin up to 0.1.3.6. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the file options-{migrate_key}.txt. This manipulation of the argument migrate_key causes exposure of information through directory listing. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2026-13457. The attack may be initiated remotely. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in InstaWP Connect Plugin up to 0.1.3.6 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown functionality of the file options-{migrate_key}.txt. The manipulation of the argument migrate_key with an unknown input leads to a exposure of information through directory listing vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-548. A directory listing is inappropriately exposed, yielding potentially sensitive information to attackers. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

The InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in all versions up to, and including, 0.1.3.6 via the (top-level script) function. This is due to the plugin stores its encrypted options file as options-{migrate_key}.txt in wp-content/instawpbackups/ without deploying an index.php or .htaccess to prevent directory listing, exposing the 40-character migrate_key on Apache servers with directory indexing enabled, which allows an attacker to derive the AES-256-CBC passphrase via SHA256(migrate_key), decrypt the options file to recover the api_signature. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to get the database access details and api_signature. Exploitation requires the target WordPress site to be hosted on Apache with directory listing enabled (Options +Indexes) for the wp-content/instawpbackups/ directory, and time limited because it can only be exploited during the migration period.

It is possible to read the advisory at wordfence.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-13457 since 06/26/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/11/2026). The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1083 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

By approaching the search of inurl:options-{migrate_key}.txt it is possible to find vulnerable targets with Google Hacking.

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

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• WordPress Plugin

Vendor

• InstaWP

Name

• Connect Plugin

Version

• 0.1.3.0
• 0.1.3.1
• 0.1.3.2
• 0.1.3.3
• 0.1.3.4
• 0.1.3.5
• 0.1.3.6

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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