CVE-2026-18438 File upload in Templately – Elementor & Gutenberg Template Library: 6500+ Free & Pro Ready Templates And Cloud!
Authenticated contributors can achieve remote code execution by uploading malicious files due to filename validation mismatches in the Templately WordPress plugin.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-18438?
CVE-2026-18438 is a high-severity vulnerability in wpdevteam Templately – Elementor & Gutenberg Template Library: 6500+ Free & Pro Ready Templates And Cloud!, published on 15 Aug 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The Templately – Elementor & Gutenberg Template Library: 6500+ Free & Pro Ready Templates And Cloud! plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in all versions up to, and including, 3.7.1 via the fetch_remote_file function. This is due to a filename validation/destination mismatch in fetch_remote_file, where file type validation is performed against the attacker-controlled Content-Disposition filename rather than the URL-path-derived destination filename. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to execute code on the server. A GIF+PHP polyglot file passes wp_check_filetype_and_ext validation as image/gif via the Content-Disposition filename, while the actual destination path is written with a .php extension derived from the URL path, bypassing the unfiltered_upload capability gate entirely. The affected endpoints are reachable at this privilege level because Templately's entire REST API — including the cloud import endpoints used in this attack (/templately/v1/clouds/upload and /templately/v1/insert) — is authorized only by a current_user_can('delete_posts') check, with no administrator or manage_options capability requirement. The same permission gate also allows a contributor to overwrite the site's global Templately cloud connection via the /templately/v1/login endpoint with global_signin set to true. A complete remediation should both correct fetch_remote_file to validate the file type against the actual destination filename rather than the Content-Disposition header (and avoid deriving the write path from the request URL), and restrict state-changing Templately REST routes to an appropriate administrator-level capability.
Weakness: CWE-434
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-18438?
How do I fix CVE-2026-18438?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-18438 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2026-18438 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-18438 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-wqqc-79qg-345q.