Executive brief
The Events Made Easy WordPress plugin allows authenticated users with contributor-level permissions to include and execute arbitrary PHP files from the server through improper file path handling. An attacker can craft a malicious event page that automatically executes injected code whenever any website visitor views that page, potentially compromising the entire website and exposing sensitive data without requiring direct admin access.
Technical details
The vulnerability is a Local File Inclusion (LFI) flaw in the eme_single_event_page_template function that fails to properly validate file paths, allowing directory traversal attacks. The vulnerability requires authenticated access at contributor level or above and allows an attacker to include arbitrary PHP files via path traversal (e.g., "../../../") in the template parameter. Once a malicious event page is created with a traversal payload, the code is executed passively whenever any site visitor loads that event page, without requiring further attacker interaction. An attacker can leverage this to achieve remote code execution if PHP files can be uploaded to the server, or to access sensitive configuration files. Patch availability depends on whether a fixed version beyond 3.2.5 has been released.
Affected products
- WordPress Plugin Directory Events Made Easy up to and including 3.2.5
Timeline
- 2026-08-20: disclosed