HighCVE-2026-119977

    WordPress Core 4.7.0 - 7.1.3 - Unauthenticated Upgrade-Window Staged-Installer Remote Code Execution (CVE-2026-119977)

    Published Last modified Sources: CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    WordPress Core is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in versions 4.7 through 7.1.3. This is due to predictable, web-accessible staging paths used during full-package core upgrades.

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below.

    Affected
    • WordPress lte 4.7.0..4.7.38
    • WordPress lte 4.8.0..4.8.33
    • WordPress lte 4.9.0..4.9.34
    • WordPress lte 5.0.0..5.0.30
    • WordPress lte 5.1.0..5.1.27
    • WordPress lte 5.2.0..5.2.29
    • WordPress lte 5.3.0..5.3.26
    • WordPress lte 5.4.0..5.4.24
    • WordPress lte 5.5.0..5.5.23
    • WordPress lte 5.6.0..5.6.22
    • WordPress lte 5.7.0..5.7.20
    • WordPress lte 5.8.0..5.8.18
    • WordPress lte 5.9.0..5.9.19
    • WordPress lte 6.0.0..6.0.17
    • WordPress lte 6.1.0..6.1.15
    • WordPress lte 6.2.0..6.2.14
    • WordPress lte 6.3.0..6.3.13
    • WordPress lte 6.4.0..6.4.13
    • WordPress lte 6.5.0..6.5.13
    • WordPress lte 6.6.0..6.6.10
    • WordPress lte 6.7.0..6.7.10
    • WordPress lte 6.8.0..6.8.11
    • WordPress lte 6.9.0..6.9.10
    • WordPress lte 7.0.0..7.0.7
    • WordPress lte 7.1.0..7.1.3

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    8.1

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    8.1

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: CVE.org

    —

    EPSS score

    No value is available for this vulnerability.

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    High
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    70.50 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    actively exploitedSource: VulnCheck KEV (opens in a new tab) How we classify
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    8.1 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    8.1
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-367

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    WordPress Core is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in versions 4.7 through 7.1.3. This is due to predictable, web-accessible staging paths used during full-package core upgrades. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute code on the server during the upgrade window.

    Source: cvelistv5, NVD (NIST)

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    WordPress FoundationWordPress
    • 5.9.0 – ≤ 5.9.19
    • 5.2.0 – ≤ 5.2.29
    • 6.3.0 – ≤ 6.3.13
    • 5.4.0 – ≤ 5.4.24
    • 5.1.0 – ≤ 5.1.27
    • 4.7.0 – ≤ 4.7.38
    • 6.5.0 – ≤ 6.5.13
    • 4.8.0 – ≤ 4.8.33
    • 6.6.0 – ≤ 6.6.10
    • 6.4.0 – ≤ 6.4.13
    • 7.1.0 – ≤ 7.1.3
    • 6.0.0 – ≤ 6.0.17
    • 5.3.0 – ≤ 5.3.26
    • 5.5.0 – ≤ 5.5.23
    • 6.1.0 – ≤ 6.1.15
    • 5.7.0 – ≤ 5.7.20
    • 6.2.0 – ≤ 6.2.14
    • 4.9.0 – ≤ 4.9.34
    • 7.0.0 – ≤ 7.0.7
    • 6.8.0 – ≤ 6.8.11
    • 5.8.0 – ≤ 5.8.18
    • 6.9.0 – ≤ 6.9.10
    • 5.0.0 – ≤ 5.0.30
    • 6.7.0 – ≤ 6.7.10
    • 5.6.0 – ≤ 5.6.22
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    Vendors and products

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-367Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition

      Base

      The product checks the state of a resource before using that resource, but the resource's state can change between the check and the use in a way that invalidates the results of the check.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-367

    References & sources

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    1. ReceivedWordfence

      CVSS V3.1: AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

      Weakness type: CWE-367

      Description added or changed

      Show 12 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Descriptionadded
      —
      WordPress Core is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in versions 4.7 through 7.1.3. This is due to predictable, web-accessible staging paths used during full-package core upgrades. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute code on the server during the upgrade window.
      CVSSadded
      —
      AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
      Weakness type (CWE)added
      —
      CWE-367
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/119xxx/CVE-2026-119977.json">CVE-2026-119977</a>
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/7.1.3/src/wp-admin/includes/class-core-upgrader.php#L162
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/7.1.3/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-upgrader.php#L378
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/7.1.3/src/wp-admin/includes/update-core.php#L1549
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/7.1.3/src/wp-admin/setup-config.php#L282
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/7.1.4/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-upgrader.php#L346
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/7.1.4/src/wp-admin/includes/update-core.php#L1545
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://wordpress.org/news/2026/10/wordpress-7-1-4/
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/4b4da0cf-d9f4-47c4-a0e8-6c4dc5a6f250?source=cve

      Source identifier: security@wordfence.com

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