CVE-2020-25213: WordPress File Manager Plugin Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Is it exploited?

Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 3 Nov 2021, 420 days after the CVE record was published.

How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?

97.3%

EPSS score, percentile 99.9 of all scored records

How severe?

10.0 Critical

CVSS v3.1 base score, given by the CNA

What should I do?

CISA deadline 3 May 2022. Apply updates per vendor instructions.

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

Which versions are affected?

Not stated. The CVE record gives vendor and product as “n/a” and the version as “unspecified”.

Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

What to do

CISA due date for this action: 3 May 2022.

Advisories and patches

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

Linked from CISA's catalog entry

• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-25213

Affected products and versions

The CVE record does not name affected products or versions: vendor and product are “n/a” and the version is “unspecified”.

Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

About this vulnerability

WordPress File Manager plugin contains a remote code execution vulnerability that allows unauthenticated users to execute PHP code and upload malicious files on a target site.

Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.

• CISA added CVE-2020-25213 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 3 Nov 2021.
• CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
• The due date CISA sets for the required action is 3 May 2022.
• The CVE record was published on 9 Sep 2020, 420 days before it was added to KEV.
• The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 10.0 (Critical), given by its CNA.
• FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 97.3% (percentile 99.9), as of 28 Oct 2026.
• CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable yes, technical impact total.

Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

Description

The File Manager (wp-file-manager) plugin before 6.9 for WordPress allows remote attackers to upload and execute arbitrary PHP code because it renames an unsafe example elFinder connector file to have the .php extension. This, for example, allows attackers to run the elFinder upload (or mkfile and put) command to write PHP code into the wp-content/plugins/wp-file-manager/lib/files/ directory. This was exploited in the wild in August and September 2020.

Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

Weakness

• CWE-434: Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type

CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.

Timeline

References

• wordpress.org
• github.com
• hotforsecurity.bitdefender.com
• wordfence.com
• plugins.trac.wordpress.org
• zdnet.com
• seravo.com
• packetstormsecurity.com
• packetstormsecurity.com

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