CVE-2026-126537SaturdayDrive Ninja Forms - File Uploads path traversal
CVE-2026-126537 is a path traversal in SaturdayDrive Ninja Forms - File Uploads, rated critical (9.1 on CVSS 3.1).
Why this priority: Critical, and reachable over the network without an account.
Published · Updated · NVD status: Deferred
What it is
A file name from the request can climb out of the intended folder with sequences like ../, reaching files the service never meant to expose.
How it is reached
An attacker can exploit it over the network, without an account, and nobody has to click anything.
What an attacker gains
A successful attack can change data or behaviour and take it offline. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker read or write files outside the folders the service meant to expose.
Is it being exploited?
There is no public report of exploitation yet.
What to do
- No fixed version is listed yet. Find every place SaturdayDrive Ninja Forms - File Uploads runs, watch the references for a fix, and plan a replacement if it is no longer supported.
- While there is no fix, keep it off the internet or behind a VPN, allowlist or authenticating proxy.
Description from NVD
The Ninja Forms - File Uploads add-on for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Deletion (and arbitrary file read via S3/Dropbox/Google Drive exfiltration) in versions up to, and including, 3.3.36. The flaw spans NF_FU_Fields_Upload::process() in includes/fields/upload.php — which returns early (leaving the client-supplied files[] intact) whenever a public submission carries a nonempty extra.saveProgress — and NF_FU_External_Abstracts_Service::process_upload() in includes/external/abstracts/service.php, whose authoritative-path reload only fires when the client sends upload_id. By omitting upload_id, an attacker's data[file_path] survives into the Background Upload queue and is used by both upload_file_to_s3() (as SourceFile) and the maybe_delete_server_file() unlink() call in includes/external/abstracts/backgroundupload.php, with no canonicalization or upload-directory containment check (the plugin's own is_path_within_upload_dir() helper is only applied on admin paths). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to delete arbitrary files on the affected site's server which may make remote code execution possible — specifically, deleting wp-config.php forces WordPress into its setup screen, enabling full site takeover.
What this means for your architecture.
A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.
Components it touches
- WordPress sites and their plugins. Plugins run inside the site with its database access, and many sites are public.
- File storage the service can read or write. The flaw sits between the application and the file system it can reach.
Trust boundaries in play
- Internet-facing entry points. No account is needed. Any instance reachable from outside your perimeter, through a load balancer, gateway, VPN or exposed admin port, is in scope.
- Between the application and the file system it can reach. An attacker who crosses it can read or write files outside the folders the service meant to expose.
Questions to answer about your own systems
- Where does SaturdayDrive Ninja Forms - File Uploads run in your systems, and at which version?
- Which of those instances can be reached from the internet or partner networks?
- What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?
Sources
- CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
- Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
- Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.