CVE-2026-2599 – The Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Eleme... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2026-2599?

CVE-2026-2599 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). The Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms WordPress plugin is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection via deserialization of untrusted input in the 'download_csv' function. This allows unauthenticated attackers to inject PHP objects, but exploitation requires a separate plugin or theme with a POP chain to be present on the system. All WordPress sites using this plugin up to version 1.4.7 are affected.

📋 TL;DR

The Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms WordPress plugin is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection via deserialization of untrusted input in the 'download_csv' function. This allows unauthenticated attackers to inject PHP objects, but exploitation requires a separate plugin or theme with a POP chain to be present on the system. All WordPress sites using this plugin up to version 1.4.7 are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms WordPress plugin

Versions: All versions up to and including 1.4.7

Operating Systems: All operating systems running WordPress

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: The vulnerability requires the plugin to be installed and active. Exploitation requires a POP chain from another plugin or theme to have actual impact.

⚠️ 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.

Recommended Actions:

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

If a POP chain is present via another plugin/theme, attackers could delete arbitrary files, retrieve sensitive data, or execute arbitrary code, potentially leading to complete system compromise.

🟠

Likely Case

Most installations will not have a compatible POP chain, resulting in no immediate impact. However, the vulnerability creates a persistent attack surface that could be exploited if a POP chain is later introduced.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper controls like WAF rules blocking suspicious deserialization attempts and regular plugin updates, the risk is significantly reduced even if a POP chain exists.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires finding or creating a compatible POP chain from other installed components. The vulnerability itself is straightforward to trigger, but achieving meaningful impact depends on external factors.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Version 1.4.8 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3474882/

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. If no update appears, manually download version 1.4.8+ from WordPress.org and replace the plugin files.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable vulnerable plugin

all

Temporarily deactivate the plugin until patched

wp plugin deactivate contact-form-entries

WAF rule for deserialization

all

Add web application firewall rule to block PHP object injection attempts

# Example ModSecurity rule: SecRule ARGS "@rx (O:\d+:\"[^\"]+\":\d+:\{[^}]+\})" "id:1001,phase:2,deny,msg:'PHP Object Injection Attempt'"
# Cloudflare WAF: Create rule blocking requests with PHP serialized objects in parameters

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Disable the plugin immediately to eliminate the attack surface
Implement strict input validation and sanitization for all CSV download functionality

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins for 'Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms' version 1.4.7 or earlier

Check Version:

wp plugin get contact-form-entries --field=version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify plugin version is 1.4.8 or higher in WordPress admin panel

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual POST requests to CSV download endpoints
PHP warnings/errors related to unserialize() function
Unexpected file operations or code execution attempts

Network Indicators:

HTTP requests containing serialized PHP objects in parameters
Patterns matching PHP serialization format (O: followed by numbers)

SIEM Query:

source="web_logs" AND (uri_path="*download_csv*" OR params="*O:\d+:*")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2026-2599

CVSS v3 Score: 9.8 (CRITICAL)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-502

Published: March 5, 2026

Last Updated: March 5, 2026

🔗 References

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