CVE-2026-60137WordPress Core SQL Injection Vulnerability
CVE-2026-60137 is a SQL injection in WordPress Core, rated medium (5.9 on CVSS 3.1).
Why this priority: Exploited in the wild: listed in CISA's KEV catalog.
Published · Updated · NVD status: Analyzed
What it is
Input is pasted into a database query, so an attacker can rewrite the query to read or change data.
How it is reached
An attacker can exploit it over the network, without an account, and nobody has to click anything. Success also depends on conditions the attacker does not fully control.
What an attacker gains
A successful attack can read the data it protects. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker read or change records in the data store behind the application.
Is it being exploited?
CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-07-21: it is being exploited in the wild. EPSS estimates a 5.3% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 93% of scored CVEs.
What to do
- Treat it as urgent: it is on CISA's KEV list. CISA's deadline for US federal agencies: 2026-08-04.
- No fixed version is listed for WordPress Core itself; fixed versions for the other affected products are listed on this page.
- Until it is patched, keep it off the internet or behind a VPN, allowlist or authenticating proxy.
- Check exposed instances for signs of compromise, not only for the version.
Description from NVD
WordPress 6.8.x before 6.8.6, 6.9.x before 6.9.5, and 7.0.x before 7.0.2 does not properly sanitise the author__not_in parameter of WP_Query, which could allow SQL Injection when a plugin or theme passes untrusted input to the parameter.
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.
- Services that build database or directory queries. The flaw sits between the application and its data store.
- Databases. The flaw sits between the application and its data store.
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 its data store. An attacker who crosses it can read or change records in the data store behind the application.
Questions to answer about your own systems
- Where does WordPress Core 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.