# CVE-2020-36728: Adning Advertising <= 1.5.5 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Deletion via Path Traversal

> Unauthenticated attackers can delete arbitrary files via path traversal, potentially resetting the site to gain full control.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 7 Jun 2023
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-52gj-66p3-r6v6

## What is CVE-2020-36728?

CVE-2020-36728 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in tunafish Adning Advertising, published on 7 Jun 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Adning Advertising plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to file deletion via path traversal in versions up to, and including, 1.5.5. This allows unauthenticated attackers to delete arbitrary files which can be used to reset and gain full control of a site.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-36728?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Tunasite Adning Advertising.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-36728?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-36728 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-36728 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-36728 exists.

Public exploit code:

- WordPress Plugin Adning Advertising < 1.5.6 - Arbitrary File Upload (nuclei): http/cves/2020/CVE-2020-36728.yaml

## Other vulnerabilities in tunafish Adning Advertising

- [CVE-2020-36705](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36705/): Adning Advertising <= 1.5.5 - Arbitrary File Upload (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-36728 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-36728 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in tunafish Adning Advertising, published on 7 Jun 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-36728 exists.

Affected product: tunafish Adning Advertising. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36728/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36728/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-36728
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36728
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-36728

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36728/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.