WP Ghost, a widely used security plugin for WordPress, is currently exposed to a severe vulnerability that poses significant risks to its users. This flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to execute code remotely, potentially compromising entire servers and their associated websites.
With over 200,000 installations, WP Ghost advertises strong protection, claiming to fend off approximately 140,000 hacking attempts and over 9 million brute-force login attempts every month. The plugin also defends against numerous threats, including SQL injection, script injection, malware deployment, and cross-site scripting (XSS).
Vulnerability Details
As disclosed by Patchstack, WP Ghost is affected by a critical Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability, rated with a CVSS score of 9.6. This issue, identified as CVE-2025-26909, impacts all versions of the plugin up to 5.4.01 and arises from insufficient input validation in the ‘showFile()’ function. When exploited, attackers can manipulate URL paths to include arbitrary files.
Importantly, this vulnerability is triggered only when WP Ghost’s “Change Paths” feature is activated in either Lite or Ghost mode, although these configurations are not the defaults. Nonetheless, Patchstack indicates that the Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability aspects are applicable to a vast majority of environments.
According to Patchstack’s analysis, “The vulnerability resulted from inadequate user input validation via URL paths that can be processed as files. This flaw can lead to RCE in almost any server setup.” Thus, while LFI vulnerabilities pose a risk of unauthorized file access, the escalation to RCE is contingent upon specific server configurations.
Implications of the Vulnerability
Even LFI vulnerabilities that do not escalate to RCE can still engender substantial risks. Such scenarios may include information disclosure, session hijacking, log poisoning, unauthorized access to source code, and denial of service (DoS) attacks. Therefore, the existence of this vulnerability warrants immediate attention from all WP Ghost users.
Timeline of Discovery and Mitigation
The vulnerability was uncovered by researcher Dimas Maulana on February 25, 2025. Following an internal assessment, Patchstack promptly notified the WP Ghost development team on March 3. The developers acted swiftly, implementing a patch that introduced additional validation checks on user-supplied URLs and paths.
This patch was rolled out in WP Ghost version 5.4.02, with an updated version, 5.4.03, also made available shortly thereafter. WP Ghost users are strongly advised to upgrade to either of these versions to safeguard against CVE-2025-26909 and bolster their website security.
Conclusion
In an era where cybersecurity threats are pervasive, maintaining the integrity of WordPress plugins is paramount for website security. The WP Ghost vulnerability underscores the importance of regular updates and vigilance in monitoring installed plugins for security flaws. Website owners must prioritize upgrading to the latest versions of their plugins and remain informed about emerging threats to protect their digital assets effectively.
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