# CVE-2022-50953: WordPress Plugin admin-word-count-column 2.2 Local File Read

> Unauthenticated attackers can read arbitrary files via path traversal in the admin-word-count-column WordPress plugin.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.9 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 8 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 8 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-x7v7-749j-rvh3

## What is CVE-2022-50953?

CVE-2022-50953 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in brooks24 admin-word-count-column, published on 8 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

WordPress Plugin admin-word-count-column 2.2 contains a local file read vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary files by exploiting null byte injection in the path parameter. Attackers can send GET requests to download-csv.php with a crafted path parameter containing directory traversal sequences and null bytes to bypass file restrictions and read sensitive files like system configuration.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50953?


## How do I fix CVE-2022-50953?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-50953 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-50953 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-50953 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-50953 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-50953 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in brooks24 admin-word-count-column, published on 8 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-50953 exists.

Affected product: brooks24 admin-word-count-column. 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-2022-50953/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50953/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50953
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50953
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50953

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50953/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.