W3 Total Cache < 2.10.5 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary Directory File Write and .htaccess Overwrite via Path Traversal in the Page Cache Key

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API

Summary

CVECVE-2026-18051
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerWPScan
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-08-19 06:17:36 UTC
Updated2026-08-26 16:30:52 UTC
DescriptionThe W3 Total Cache WordPress plugin before 2.10.5 does not properly validate the request path it uses to build cache file names, allowing unauthenticated attackers to write a file into any existing directory on the server, inside or outside the web root, overwriting whatever occupies the target name. On Apache, the same flaw overwrites the site's .htaccess files, which breaks the site and can strip hardening rules that other security measures rely on.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 10 CRITICAL from ADP

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H

EPSS: 0.004380000 probability, percentile 0.363880000 (date 2026-08-26)

Problem Types: CWE-22 | CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') | CWE-22 CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1ADPDECLARED10CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H
3.1134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0Secondary10CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Unknown W3 Total Cache affected 2.10.5 semver Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
wpscan.com/vulnerability/dc56cdd2-419b-4a64-9d2a-29dc7e79cb6d [email protected] wpscan.com
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: Jakub Herman (en)

CNA: WPScan (en)

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