CVE-2026-6518 File upload in CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes
Authenticated attackers with Editor or Administrator privileges can upload malicious files via an AJAX action, leading to remote code execution on the WordPress server.
- 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-2026-6518?
CVE-2026-6518 is a high-severity vulnerability in CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes, published on 18 Apr 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file upload and remote code execution in all versions up to, and including, 4.1.16 via the `cmp_theme_update_install` AJAX action. This is due to the function only checking for the `publish_pages` capability (available to Editors and above) instead of `manage_options` (Administrators only), combined with a lack of proper validation on the user-supplied file URL and no verification of the downloaded file's content before extraction. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Administrator-level access and above, to force the server to download and extract a malicious ZIP file from a remote attacker-controlled URL into a web-accessible directory (`wp-content/plugins/cmp-premium-themes/`), resulting in remote code execution. Due to the lack of a nonce for Editors, they are unable to exploit this vulnerability.
Weakness: CWE-434
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-6518?
How do I fix CVE-2026-6518?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-6518 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2026-6518 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-6518 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-cwq2-35x4-44pq.