Vulnerability DatabaseCVE-2016-6896
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CVE-2016-6896
Published:January 18, 2017
Updated:May 17, 2026
Directory traversal vulnerability in the wp_ajax_update_plugin function in wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php in WordPress 4.5.3 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service or read certain text files via a .. (dot dot) in the plugin parameter to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php, as demonstrated by /dev/random read operations that deplete the entropy pool.
Related Resources (7)
https://sumofpwn.nl/advisory/2016/path_traversal_vulnerability_in_wordpress_core_ajax_handlers.html
https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-6896
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036683
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/08/20/1
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40288/
https://people.canonical.com/~ubuntu-security/cve/CVE-2016-6896
https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/8606
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CVSS v4
Base Score:
7.1
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Attack Requirements
NONE
Privileges Required
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Vulnerable System Confidentiality
LOW
Vulnerable System Integrity
NONE
Vulnerable System Availability
HIGH
Subsequent System Confidentiality
NONE
Subsequent System Integrity
NONE
Subsequent System Availability
NONE
Exploit Maturity
POC
CVSS v3
Base Score:
7.1
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
LOW
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Exploit Maturity
FUNCTIONAL
Weakness Type (CWE)
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CWE-22
EPSS
Base Score:
35.18