VulnerabilityPublished 7 Jan 2026

CVE-2025-14804: Frontend File Manager Plugin · External Control of File Name or Path

Affects Frontend File Manager PluginSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.7 High : upgrade to 23.5 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.7High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 19% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 23.5

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

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

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 7 Jan 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade Frontend File Manager Plugin to 23.5.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Frontend File Manager Plugin	Affected <23.5	Fixed in 23.5

AI-suggested

Immediately update the Frontend File Manager plugin to version 23.5 or later, where the vulnerability is patched.
Restrict plugin access strictly to trusted users with elevated privileges; avoid granting subscriber-level users access to file management features.
Implement web application firewalls (WAF) with rules to detect and block suspicious file path manipulation attempts targeting the plugin endpoints.
Regularly audit user roles and permissions within WordPress to ensure minimal necessary privileges are assigned.
Monitor server logs for unusual file deletion activities or unauthorized access attempts related to the plugin.
Maintain regular backups of website files and databases to enable rapid recovery in case of file deletion or tampering.
Consider isolating file management functionality to separate environments or using alternative plugins with stronger security track records.
Educate site administrators about the risks of granting file management capabilities to low-privilege users.

Description

CVE-2025-14804 is a high-severity vulnerability in the Frontend File Manager WordPress plugin prior to version 23.5. It allows any authenticated user, including low-privilege roles like subscribers, to delete arbitrary files on the server due to improper validation of a path parameter and file ownership. The vulnerability does not require user interaction and can be exploited remotely over the network. While it does not impact confidentiality or availability, it severely impacts integrity by enabling unauthorized file deletion. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild. European organizations using this plugin on WordPress sites are at risk, especially those with subscriber-level users. Mitigation requires immediate updating to version 23.5 or later and restricting plugin access to trusted users only. Countries with high WordPress usage and significant e-commerce or media sectors, such as Germany, France, and the UK, are most likely affected.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the integrity of their web infrastructure, especially those relying on WordPress with the Frontend File Manager plugin installed. Unauthorized file deletion can disrupt business operations, cause data loss, and require costly recovery efforts. E-commerce platforms, media companies, and public sector websites are particularly vulnerable due to their reliance on WordPress and the presence of multiple user roles, including subscribers. The lack of impact on confidentiality reduces the risk of data breaches but does not diminish the threat to operational continuity. Additionally, the vulnerability could be leveraged as part of a broader attack chain, such as deleting security or backup files to facilitate further compromise. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently limits immediate widespread impact, but the vulnerability's characteristics suggest it could be weaponized quickly once publicized.

Summary

CVE-2025-14804 is a vulnerability identified in the Frontend File Manager Plugin for WordPress versions before 23.5. The flaw arises from the plugin's failure to properly validate the 'path' parameter and verify file ownership before allowing file deletion operations. This weakness falls under CWE-73 (External Control of File Name or Path), where an attacker can manipulate file paths to affect files outside the intended directory scope. The vulnerability permits any authenticated user, including those with minimal privileges such as subscribers, to delete arbitrary files on the web server hosting the WordPress site. Exploitation requires no user interaction and can be performed remotely over the network. The CVSS v3.1 score of 7.7 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N) indicates that while confidentiality and availability are not impacted, integrity is severely compromised due to unauthorized file deletions. The scope is changed (S:C) because the vulnerability affects resources beyond the scope of the initially vulnerable component. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the ease of exploitation and low privilege requirement make it a significant threat. The vulnerability could lead to defacement, disruption of website functionality, or deletion of critical files, potentially causing operational issues or reputational damage.

CWE-73External Control of File Name or Path (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A06:2025: Insecure Design (opens in a new tab)
The product allows user input to control or influence paths or file names that are used in filesystem operations.
Architecture and Design
When the set of filenames is limited or known, create a mapping from a set of fixed input values (such as numeric IDs) to the actual filenames, and reject all other inputs. For example, ID 1 could map to "inbox.txt" and ID 2 could map to "profile.txt".
Architecture and Design · Operation
Run your code in a "jail" or similar sandbox environment that enforces strict boundaries between the process and the operating system. This may effectively restrict all access to files within a particular directory.
Architecture and Design
For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
Secure Design Principles (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.2 (opens in a new tab)
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Subverting Environment Variable Values (opens in a new tab)
Leverage Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic (opens in a new tab)
URL Encoding (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

wpscan.com/vulnerability/c572c0ad-1b36-49ce-b254-2181e53abb46/ (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 14 Jan 2026, 16:03 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-73

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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