Kali Forms <= 2.4.20 - Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution via 'thisPermalink' Field Parameter
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-16144 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | Wordfence |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-08-01 09:17:00 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-08-01 09:17:00 UTC |
| Description | The Kali Forms — Contact Form & Drag-and-Drop Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.20 via the _save_data function. This is due to insufficient validation of the 'thisPermalink' field value before it overwrites a trusted callable placeholder, allowing attacker-controlled strings to reach call_user_func() in _save_data(). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute code on the server. Exploitation requires the target form to define a field with a name matching one of the reserved placeholder keys ('thisPermalink', 'entryCounter', or 'submission_link'), as check_if_placeholders_changed() only processes POST keys present in the form's field_type_map. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 8.1 HIGH from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Problem Types: CWE-94 | CWE-94 CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Primary | 8.1 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | DECLARED | 8.1 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
HighPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Wpchill | Kali Forms Contact Form Drag-and-Drop Builder | affected 2.4.20 semver | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/9d692aff-8bb2-45bb-9caf-bc33d... | [email protected] | www.wordfence.com | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.19/Inc/Frontend/class-form-proces... | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.19/Inc/Frontend/class-form-proces... | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.20/Inc/Frontend/class-form-proces... | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.20/Inc/Frontend/class-form-proces... | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.20/Inc/Frontend/class-form-proces... | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.20/Inc/Frontend/class-form-proces... | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.19/Inc/Frontend/class-form-proces... | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.19/Inc/Frontend/class-form-proces... | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.19/Inc/Frontend/class-form-proces... | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.20/Inc/Frontend/class-form-proces... | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Wordfence PRISM (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2026-07-17T18:00:17.000Z | Vendor Notified |
| CNA | 2026-07-31T19:40:39.000Z | Disclosed |
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.