CVE-2026-13492
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 · uneditedThe UsersWP plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Deletion in versions up to, and including, 1.2.65. This is due to insufficient validation of file-field values in the UsersWP_Validation::validate_fields() function (which falls through to sanitize_text_field() for fields of type 'file', leaving directory-traversal sequences intact) combined with the UsersWP_Forms::upload_file_remove() AJAX handler building the deletion target from the uploads basedir concatenated with the attacker-controlled metadata value without any realpath canonicalization or uploads-directory boundary check before calling unlink(). This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to delete arbitrary files on the affected site's server, including wp-config.
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 confidenceThe UsersWP WordPress plugin fails to properly validate file-field metadata in the validate_fields() function, which passes through sanitize_text_field() without filtering directory-traversal sequences. The upload_file_remove() AJAX handler then constructs the deletion path by concatenating the uploads directory with this attacker-controlled value, bypassing realpath() canonicalization and boundary checks, allowing authenticated Subscriber+ users to delete arbitrary files including wp-config.
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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm UsersWP plugin is installedCheck the WordPress plugins directory for userswp folder or query the wp_options table for the active_plugins option containing 'userswp/userswp.php'Affected if UsersWP plugin is present and active in WordPress
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Check UsersWP version before 1.2.66Read the Version header from /wp-content/plugins/userswp/userswp.php or query option 'userswp_version' from wp_options tableAffected if Installed version is lower than 1.2.66
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Verify AJAX endpoint accepts authenticated requestsTest accessing /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=upload_file_remove with a low-privilege (Subscriber) authenticated sessionAffected if The endpoint responds without 403 Forbidden, indicating it accepts requests from Subscriber-level users
UsersWP versions below 1.2.66 with the upload_file_remove AJAX endpoint accessible to Subscriber+ users are vulnerable to arbitrary file deletion via directory traversal
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpdate UsersWP to version 1.2.66 or later. As an interim measure, disable the plugin or restrict access to the upload_file_remove AJAX endpoint until patching is possible.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-13492 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-13492 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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