CVE-2026-15450: Webaways NEX-Forms Lite arbitrary file deletion via path traversal

CVE-2026-15450 · Severity: high · CVSS 8.1 · Published 2026-08-01

The NEX-Forms Lite plugin for WordPress, used for building website forms, contains a security flaw that allows authorized users to delete files from the web server. By exploiting this vulnerability, an attacker could delete critical system files like the WordPress configuration file, potentially leading to a complete site shutdown or takeover. While typically requiring administrative access, certain plugin configurations could allow lower-level users to perform this action.

Vendors: Webaways.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-15450 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-15450 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-15450?
High severity, with a CVSS score of 8.1, published 1 August 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
Webaways NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress (Lite) <= 9.2.3.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-15450?
No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.
How is CVE-2026-15450 attacked?
It is attacked over the network, in a web application.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-15450?
Check whether you run Webaways NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress (Lite) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

Technical details

A path traversal vulnerability exists in the NEX-Forms Lite plugin due to insufficient validation in the delete_file() AJAX handler. The handler retrieves a file path from the database and passes it directly to the PHP unlink() function without sanitization (such as realpath() or basename() checks). An attacker can use the insert_record() AJAX handler to store an arbitrary file path in the 'location' column, as the wp_kses() function used for filtering only strips HTML tags and does not block path traversal sequences. This enables authenticated users, typically with administrator privileges (or lower depending on plugin settings), to delete arbitrary files on the server.

Affected products

  • webaways NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress (Lite) <= 9.2.3

Timeline

  • 2026-08-01: disclosed
  • 2026-08-01: advisory

References

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