CVE-2026-1298
📋 TL;DR
The Easy Replace Image WordPress plugin has a missing authorization vulnerability that allows authenticated users with Contributor-level access or higher to replace any image attachment on the site with images from external URLs. This could lead to site defacement, phishing attacks, or content manipulation. All WordPress sites using this plugin up to version 3.5.2 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Easy Replace Image 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 could replace all site images with malicious content, enabling widespread phishing campaigns, complete site defacement, or embedding malware in images served to visitors.
Likely Case
Attackers with contributor access replace key images to create misleading content, damage brand reputation, or redirect users to malicious sites via image links.
If Mitigated
With proper user access controls and monitoring, impact is limited to minor content manipulation that can be quickly detected and reverted.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is straightforward via AJAX requests to the vulnerable function.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 3.5.3 or later
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find Easy Replace Image plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. If no update appears, manually download version 3.5.3+ from WordPress.org and replace plugin files.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily deactivate the Easy Replace Image plugin until patched.
wp plugin deactivate easy-replace-image
Restrict User Roles
allRemove Contributor and higher roles from untrusted users.
wp user list --role=contributor --field=ID
wp user set-role <user_id> subscriber
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Remove the plugin entirely if patching is not possible.
- Implement strict monitoring of image changes and user activity logs.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins for Easy Replace Image version 3.5.2 or lower.Check Version:
wp plugin get easy-replace-image --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 3.5.3 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual AJAX requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=eri_from_url
- Multiple image attachment updates from single user in short time
Network Indicators:
- POST requests to admin-ajax.php with image_replacement_from_url parameters
- External image URLs being fetched by WordPress backend
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND (uri="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND parameters CONTAINS "eri_from_url")🔗 References
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-replace-image/tags/3.5.2/easy-replace-image.php#L961
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-replace-image/trunk/easy-replace-image.php#L961
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=3447984%40easy-replace-image&new=3447984%40easy-replace-image&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/27332c13-c25f-47ec-980d-035fc35ce553?source=cve
