Vulnerability record · CVE-2026-6518 · published 18 April 2026
CVE-2026-6518: Unrestricted file upload vulnerability
The CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file upload and remote code execution in all versions up to, and including, 4.1.16 via the `cmp_theme_update_install` AJAX action. This is due to the function only checking for the `publish_pages` capability (available to Editors and above) instead of `manage_options` (Administrators only), combined with a lack of proper validation on the user-supplied file URL and no verification of the downloaded file's content before extraction. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Administrator-level access and above, to force the server to download and extract a malicious ZIP file from a remote attacker-controlled URL into a web-accessible directory (`wp-content/plugins/cmp-premium-themes/`), resulting in remote code execution. Due to the lack of a nonce for Editors, they are unable to exploit this vulnerability.
Description
The CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file upload and remote code execution in all versions up to, and including, 4.1.16 via the `cmp_theme_update_install` AJAX action. This is due to the function only checking for the `publish_pages` capability (available to Editors and above) instead of `manage_options` (Administrators only), combined with a lack of proper validation on the user-supplied file URL and no verification of the downloaded file's content before extraction. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Administrator-level access and above, to force the server to download and extract a malicious ZIP file from a remote attacker-controlled URL into a web-accessible directory (`wp-content/plugins/cmp-premium-themes/`), resulting in remote code execution. Due to the lack of a nonce for Editors, they are unable to exploit this vulnerability.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
References
Track CVE-2026-6518 inside VULONE
Watch it alongside the ransomware crews, C2 infrastructure and forum chatter that reference it, query it through the API and pull it into your SIEM over TAXII.
Related vulnerabilities
Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2026-6518), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-26). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.