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Work The Flow File UploadWordPress extension · Lyntonreed

CVE-2015-10138

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.5.2 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The Work The Flow File Upload plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file uploads due to missing file type validation in the jQuery-File-Upload-9.5.0 server and test files in versions up to, and including, 2.5.2. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to upload arbitrary files on the affected sites server which may make remote code execution possible.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The Work The Flow File Upload WordPress plugin bundles a jQuery-File-Upload-9.5.0 server component with exposed test and upload handlers that lack proper file type validation. Unauthenticated attackers can directly access these handlers to upload arbitrary files, including executable PHP scripts, enabling full remote code execution on the affected WordPress installation.

MitigationRemove or disable the jQuery-File-Upload server and test directories from the plugin, implement strict allowlist-based file type validation on all upload endpoints, and update to the latest patched version of the plugin.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Work The Flow File UploadWordPress extension
Affected:<= 2.5.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate the Work The Flow plugin installation
    Check the WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for a folder containing 'work-the-flow' or 'wtf' in the name, or search for files containing 'work the flow' in plugin headers
    Affected if The plugin folder exists in the WordPress plugins directory
  2. Identify the installed plugin version
    Open the main plugin PHP file (usually the primary .php file in the plugin folder) and locate the Version header in the plugin comment block, or check the readme.txt file for the version field
    Affected if The version number is 2.5.2 or lower
  3. Verify vulnerable jQuery-File-Upload files exist
    Check the plugin directory for subdirectories named 'server', 'test', 'jquery-file-upload', or 'files' that contain server-side upload handling scripts (such as upload.php, upload.php, or similar PHP upload handlers)
    Affected if These server/test directories with upload handling scripts are present in the plugin folder
  4. Confirm the upload endpoint is accessible
    Attempt to access common jQuery-File-Upload server paths such as /wp-content/plugins/[plugin-folder]/server/php/upload.php or /wp-content/plugins/[plugin-folder]/jquery-file-upload/server/php/upload.php via HTTP request
    Affected if The upload endpoint returns a valid response (200 OK) indicating the script is executable and accessible without authentication

A user is affected if the Work The Flow File Upload plugin is installed with version 2.5.2 or lower AND the jQuery-File-Upload server/test directories with upload scripts are present and accessible.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.5.2
Vendor patch plugins.trac.wordpress.org →
Interim mitigation

Remove or disable the jQuery-File-Upload server and test directories from the plugin, implement strict allowlist-based file type validation on all upload endpoints, and update to the latest patched version of the plugin.

Recommended fix High confidence

2.5.3 or latest available version on wordpress.org

  1. 1. Log in to WordPress admin dashboard
  2. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. 3. Locate 'Work The Flow File Upload' plugin
  4. 4. Check the current installed version (should be <= 2.5.2)
  5. 5. Click 'Update Now' if version 2.5.3 or later is available, or manually download latest version from wordpress.org/plugins/work-the-flow-file-upload
  6. 6. If no update is available, deactivate and delete the plugin entirely as a temporary mitigation
  7. 7. After updating, verify the jQuery-File-Upload server/php/test and server/php/jQuery-File-Upload directories have been removed or are no longer accessible
  8. 8. Confirm arbitrary file upload is no longer possible by testing upload functionality with non-image files

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Work The Flow File Upload Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-10138 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data