Unrestricted file upload in niteo CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-434.
Summary
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.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-6518
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-cwq2-35x4-44pq
References
Other 5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/d6fb275b-dbba-46df-b170-977ef4a84c4c?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/cmp-coming-soon-maintenance/tags/4.1.16/niteo-cmp.php#L1421
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/cmp-coming-soon-maintenance/tags/4.1.16/niteo-cmp.php#L1437
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/cmp-coming-soon-maintenance/tags/4.1.16/niteo-cmp.php#L1447
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?old_path=%2Fcmp-coming-soon-maintenance/tags/4.1.16&new_path=%2Fcmp-coming-soon-maintenance/tags/4.1.17
More niteo vulnerabilities
- TI-2020-18901 CMP <= 3.8.1 - Missing Authorization CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.3
- TI-2025-23216 WordPress CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance plugin <= 4.1.14 - Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2026-10706 Improper privilege management in niteo CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.2
- TI-2023-01196 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes <= 4.1.6 - Information Exposure CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
- TI-2023-02027 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance <= 4.1.7 - Maintenance Mode Bypass CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
- TI-2022-00127 Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes < 4.0.19 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary CSS Update CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
Sources
- CVE-2026-6518 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-6518 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-cwq2-35x4-44pq · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences