CVE-2026-4853JetBackup <= 3.1.19.8 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Arbitrary Directory Deletion via Path Traversal in 'fileName' Parameter
- 4.9MediumCVSS base score
- 0.71%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 46% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- NonePublic exploitsnone known yet
Description
The JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Path Traversal leading to Arbitrary Directory Deletion in versions up to and including 3.1.19.8. This is due to insufficient input validation on the fileName parameter in the file upload handler. The plugin sanitizes the fileName parameter using sanitize_text_field(), which removes HTML tags but does not prevent path traversal sequences like '../'. The unsanitized filename is then directly concatenated in Upload::getFileLocation() without using basename() or validating the resolved path stays within the intended directory. When an invalid file is uploaded, the cleanup logic calls dirname() on the traversed path and passes it to Util::rm(), which recursively deletes the entire resolved directory. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with administrator-level access to traverse outside the intended upload directory and trigger deletion of critical WordPress directories such as wp-content/plugins, effectively disabling all installed plugins and causing severe site disruption.
Timeline
ID reserved
By Wordfence
- 23 days later
· 23 days later
Published
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordfenceCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | Medium4.9 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N |
| NVDNVD · Deferred | 3.1 | Medium4.9 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.71% · top 46% of all CVEs (12 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: partial
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 4.9.
Affected products
backupguard · JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate
- affected ≤ 3.1.19.8
References
References8
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/4aa0fa80-05dd-4fe1-b7b5-7ed0cf13053c?source=cve (opens in a new tab)
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/backup/trunk/src/JetBackup/Upload/Upload.php#L66 (opens in a new tab)
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/backup/tags/3.1.17.5/src/JetBackup/Upload/Upload.php#L66 (opens in a new tab)
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/backup/trunk/src/JetBackup/Ajax/Calls/AddToQueue.php#L64 (opens in a new tab)
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/backup/tags/3.1.17.5/src/JetBackup/Ajax/Calls/AddToQueue.php#L64 (opens in a new tab)
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/backup/trunk/src/JetBackup/Ajax/Calls/AddToQueue.php#L244 (opens in a new tab)
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/backup/tags/3.1.17.5/src/JetBackup/Ajax/Calls/AddToQueue.php#L244 (opens in a new tab)
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=3495633%40backup&new=3495633%40backup&sfp_email=&sfph_mail= (opens in a new tab)
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2026-23354 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2026-4853)Record last updated .