CVE-2026-18352

WordPress · User Access Manager

The User Access Manager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to directory traversal, enabling unauthenticated attackers to access restricted files on the underlying server.

Executive summary

An unauthenticated directory traversal flaw in the User Access Manager WordPress plugin permits unauthorized access to sensitive server files.

Vulnerability

This vulnerability is a directory traversal issue where the plugin fails to properly sanitize user-supplied paths. This allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass access controls and traverse the directory structure to read sensitive files.

Business impact

With a CVSS score of 7.5, this vulnerability enables unauthenticated attackers to gain unauthorized access to critical files. This could result in the theft of environment variables, database configuration files, or other sensitive data, ultimately leading to a full breach of the affected WordPress site.

Remediation

Immediate Action: Update the User Access Manager plugin to the latest version immediately. If an update is not yet available, evaluate the necessity of the plugin and disable it if it is not essential.

Proactive Monitoring: Review server logs for suspicious directory traversal patterns or unusual file access attempts that do not align with standard site traffic.

Compensating Controls: Deploy a Web Application Firewall to inspect incoming traffic and block requests containing path traversal payloads, such as sequences designed to escape the web root.

Exploitation status

Public Exploit Available: Unknown

Analyst recommendation

Given the severity of potential data exposure, users of the User Access Manager plugin should take immediate action to patch the software. Maintaining strict version control and monitoring for unusual file requests is critical to defending against this type of exploitation.