# CVE-2026-9197: Path traversal in Smart Slider 3

> Authenticated administrators can read arbitrary files on the server via path traversal in the Smart Slider 3 WordPress plugin.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 6 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 6 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9vww-62gg-qrcp

## What is CVE-2026-9197?

CVE-2026-9197 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in nextendweb Smart Slider 3, published on 6 Jun 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Smart Slider 3 plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Directory Traversal in all versions up to, and including, 3.5.1.36 via the replaceHTMLImage function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with administrator-level access and above, to read the contents of arbitrary files on the server, which can contain sensitive information.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-9197?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-9197?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-9197 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-9197 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-9197 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-9197 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-9197 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in nextendweb Smart Slider 3, published on 6 Jun 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-9197 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: nextendweb Smart Slider 3. 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-2026-9197/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-9197/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-9197
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-9197
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-9197

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-9197/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.