CVE-2026-5478
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 Everest Forms plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Read and Deletion in all versions up to, and including, 3.4.4. This is due to the plugin trusting attacker-controlled old_files data from public form submissions as legitimate server-side upload state, and converting attacker-supplied URLs into local filesystem paths using regex-based string replacement without canonicalization or directory boundary enforcement. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary local files (e.g., wp-config.php) by injecting path-traversal payloads into the old_files upload field parameter, which are then attached to notification emails. The same path resolution is also used in the post-email cleanup routine, which calls unlink() on the resolved path, resulting in the targeted file being deleted after being attached. This can lead to full site compromise through disclosure of database credentials and authentication salts from wp-config.php, and denial of service through deletion of critical files. Prerequisite: The form must contain a file-upload or image-upload field, and disable storing entry information.
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 Everest Forms WordPress plugin up to version 3.4.4 suffers from unauthenticated arbitrary file read and deletion via path traversal. The plugin accepts attacker-controlled 'old_files' data from public form submissions and converts URLs to filesystem paths using insecure regex replacement without canonicalization or directory boundary enforcement. Attackers inject path-traversal payloads into the old_files parameter of file-upload fields to read arbitrary files (like wp-config.php) attached to notification emails, and the same mechanism triggers unlink() in the cleanup routine, deleting the targeted file.
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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Verify Everest Forms plugin is installedIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Everest Forms'. Note the installed version number.Affected if Plugin is installed and version is 3.4.4 or lower (or version number cannot be determined and plugin is present)
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Confirm plugin version is within affected rangeCompare the installed Everest Forms version to the affected range (versions up to and including 3.4.4). If the version cannot be determined or is 3.4.4 or lower, treat as affected.Affected if Installed version is 3.4.4 or lower, or version cannot be verified
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Identify forms with file-upload fieldsIn WordPress admin, go to Everest Forms > All Forms and review each form. Check if any form contains a 'File Upload' field type.Affected if At least one form contains an enabled File Upload field
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Check entry storage configurationGo to Everest Forms > Settings > General. Look for 'Store entries locally' or similar entry storage setting. Check whether it is enabled or disabled.Affected if Entry storage is disabled (this allows the vulnerable code path to execute)
Environment is affected if Everest Forms plugin version 3.4.4 or lower is installed AND at least one form contains a file-upload field, regardless of entry storage setting (disabled storage exposes the full risk, but the vulnerable code path exists in all configurations up to this version).
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.
dbcve · scopedUpdate Everest Forms to version 3.4.5 or later. Until updated, ensure forms with file-upload fields have entry storage enabled to prevent the vulnerable code path from executing, or implement WAF rules to block path-traversal patterns in the old_files parameter.
Everest Forms 3.4.5 or later
- Backup the WordPress site and database before making any changes
- Update the Everest Forms plugin to version 3.4.5 or later through the WordPress admin dashboard (Plugins > Updates)
- Verify the plugin update was successfully applied by checking the installed version
- If using file-upload or image-upload fields, ensure that 'Store entries in database' is enabled (not disabled) as an additional hardening measure
- Confirm the site still functions correctly after the update
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,832.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-5478 — 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-2026-5478 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