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OS Command InjectionWeakness · CWE-78

CVE-2025-9762

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 Post By Email plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file uploads due to missing file type validation in the save_attachments function in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.4b. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to upload arbitrary files on the affected site's 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 Post By Email WordPress plugin fails to validate file types in its save_attachments function, allowing unauthenticated attackers to upload arbitrary files including executable scripts. This missing validation combined with the ability to place files in accessible web directories enables remote code execution.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to the latest version when available. Until then, disable the plugin or implement web server-level restrictions to block executable file uploads in the uploads directory.

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

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 Post By Email plugin version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins, find 'Post By Email' in the list, and note the version number displayed under the plugin name
    Affected if Version is installed but is below 1.0.4c (or version field is empty/unknown)
  2. Confirm plugin activation status
    In the same plugin list, verify whether Post By Email shows as 'Active' or is grayed out as 'Inactive'
    Affected if Plugin is Active and version is below 1.0.4c
  3. Identify email endpoint accessibility
    Check if the plugin has created a mail handler endpoint or configured POP3/IMAP fetching - look in Settings > Post By Email or examine server access logs for incoming mail-related requests to the WordPress site
    Affected if Plugin is active with email reception enabled and version is below 1.0.4c

Environment is affected if the Post By Email WordPress plugin is installed, active, and running a version below 1.0.4c, as earlier versions lack proper file type validation in the save_attachments function.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update the plugin to the latest version when available. Until then, disable the plugin or implement web server-level restrictions to block executable file uploads in the uploads directory.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2025-9762 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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