CVE-2026-5364
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 Drag and Drop File Upload for Contact Form 7 plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file upload in versions up to, and including, 1.1.3. This is due to the plugin extracting the file extension before sanitization occurs and allowing the file type parameter to be controlled by the attacker rather than being restricted to administrator-configured values, which when combined with the fact that validation occurs on the unsanitized extension while the file is saved with a sanitized extension, allows special characters like '$' to be stripped during the save process. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to upload arbitrary PHP files and potentially achieve remote code execution, however, an .htaccess file and name randomization is in place which restricts real-world exploitability.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe Drag and Drop File Upload for Contact Form 7 plugin for WordPress suffers from a Time-of-Check-to-Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) vulnerability where file extension validation occurs on an unsanitized value before the file is saved with a sanitized extension. Attackers can control the file type parameter and inject special characters like '$' to bypass extension validation, enabling unauthenticated arbitrary PHP file uploads. However, the presence of an .htaccess file and filename randomization limits practical exploitability.
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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm plugin installation and activationIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins and verify 'Drag and Drop File Upload for Contact Form 7' is installed and activatedAffected if Plugin is installed and activated
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Identify installed plugin versionClick on the plugin in the Plugins list to view version details; compare your version against the affected version rangeAffected if Installed version is within the vulnerable version range and has not been patched
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Verify .htaccess protection existsNavigate to the plugin's upload directory (commonly wp-content/uploads/drag-drop-for-cf7/) and check for a .htaccess file with proper security directivesAffected if The .htaccess file is missing, tampered with, or lacks proper restrictions (this increases exploitability)
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Confirm filename randomization is activeUpload a test file through the plugin (if feasible in a test environment) and inspect the saved filename to verify it includes random charactersAffected if Filename randomization is absent or predictable
Environment is affected if the plugin is installed, the version is unpatched, AND the .htaccess protection is missing or weakened, allowing the TOCTOU bypass to be exploitable for arbitrary PHP uploads.
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 the plugin to the latest patched version once available; if no patch exists, disable the plugin and implement alternative file upload handling, while ensuring the existing .htaccess protections remain intact.
- Consultation2.0 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 $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-5364 — 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-2026-5364 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