# CVE-2026-15450: NEX-Forms <= 9.2.3 - Authenticated (Admin+) Arbitrary File Deletion via Path Traversal via 'location' Parameter

> Authenticated administrators can delete arbitrary files on the server via path traversal in the NEX-Forms WordPress plugin.

- **Severity:** High 8.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 1 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2446-gfm3-96v2

## What is CVE-2026-15450?

CVE-2026-15450 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in webaways NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress, published on 1 Aug 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Nex Forms – Ultimate Form Builder – Lite plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file deletion via path traversal in versions up to, and including, 9.2.3. This is due to the delete_file() AJAX handler retrieving a file path from the database and passing it directly to unlink() with no validation (no realpath(), basename(), or allowlist check), combined with the insert_record() AJAX handler that lets the same authenticated user store an arbitrary value in the target 'location' column (wp_kses() only strips HTML tags and does not neutralize path traversal or absolute paths). This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with admin-level access and above, to delete arbitrary files on the affected site's server, including wp-config. When the plugin's user-level option is configured to something else, this may be exploitable with lower privileges.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-15450?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-15450?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-15450 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-15450 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-15450 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-15450 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-15450 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in webaways NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress, published on 1 Aug 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-15450 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: webaways NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress. 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-2026-15450/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-15450/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-15450
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-15450
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-15450

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-15450/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.