CVE-2026-0829
📋 TL;DR
The Frontend File Manager WordPress plugin through version 23.5 allows unauthenticated attackers to send emails through the website without authentication, turning it into an open email relay for spam or phishing campaigns. Additionally, attackers can guess file IDs to access and share uploaded files without authorization, potentially exposing sensitive information. This affects all WordPress sites running the vulnerable plugin versions.
💻 Affected Systems
- Frontend File Manager WordPress Plugin
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers use the site as an open email relay for large-scale spam/phishing campaigns, leading to domain/IP blacklisting, while also accessing sensitive uploaded files containing confidential data.
Likely Case
Attackers send moderate volumes of spam/phishing emails through the site and access some uploaded files, potentially exposing user data or internal documents.
If Mitigated
Limited email abuse and minimal file access if network controls block outgoing SMTP traffic and file uploads are restricted.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability requires no authentication and involves simple HTTP requests to specific plugin endpoints.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 23.6 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/57d62cea-cfb8-4421-a209-e64a015ad225/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Frontend File Manager' and check if update is available. 4. Click 'Update Now' to update to version 23.6 or later. 5. Verify the plugin version after update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily deactivate the Frontend File Manager plugin until patched.
wp plugin deactivate frontend-file-manager
Block Plugin Endpoints
linuxUse web server or WAF rules to block access to vulnerable plugin endpoints.
# Apache: RewriteRule ^/wp-content/plugins/frontend-file-manager/.*$ - [F,L]
# Nginx: location ~ /wp-content/plugins/frontend-file-manager/ { deny all; }
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Immediately deactivate the Frontend File Manager plugin via WordPress admin or command line.
- Implement network-level restrictions to block outgoing SMTP traffic from the web server except to authorized mail servers.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the plugin version in WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins. If version is 23.5 or earlier, the site is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name=frontend-file-manager --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm the plugin version is 23.6 or later after updating, and test that unauthenticated requests to /wp-content/plugins/frontend-file-manager/ endpoints no longer function.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual volume of POST requests to /wp-content/plugins/frontend-file-manager/ endpoints from unauthenticated users
- Spike in outgoing email traffic from web server
Network Indicators:
- Unusual SMTP traffic originating from web server IP
- Requests to plugin file endpoints with sequential numeric IDs
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND (url_path="/wp-content/plugins/frontend-file-manager/" AND http_method="POST") AND user_agent NOT CONTAINS "wp-admin"