# CVE-2026-4280: Breaking News WP <= 1.3 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Local File Inclusion/Read

> Authenticated subscribers can read arbitrary server files via path traversal in the Breaking News WP plugin due to missing authorization and insufficient input validation.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **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:** 22 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 23 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mh5c-2v7r-xcxg

## What is CVE-2026-4280?

CVE-2026-4280 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in doctorwp Breaking News WP, published on 22 Apr 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Breaking News WP plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion in all versions up to, and including, 1.3. This is due to the brnwp_ajax_form AJAX endpoint lacking both authorization checks and CSRF verification, combined with insufficient path validation when the brnwp_theme option value is passed directly to an include() statement in the brnwp_show_breaking_news_wp() shortcode handler. While sanitize_text_field() is applied to user input, it does not strip directory traversal sequences (../). This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to overwrite the brnwp_theme option with a directory traversal payload (e.g., ../../../../etc/passwd) and subsequently trigger file inclusion of arbitrary files on the server when the shortcode is rendered.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-4280?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-4280?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-4280 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-4280 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-4280 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-4280 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-4280 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in doctorwp Breaking News WP, published on 22 Apr 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-2026-4280 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: doctorwp Breaking News WP. 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-2026-4280/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-4280/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-4280
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-4280
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-4280

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-4280/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.