CVE-2024-31210 | PHP file upload bypass via Plugin installer

WordPress is an open publishing platform for the Web. It's possible for a file of a type other than a zip file to be submitted as a new plugin by an administrative user on the Plugins -> Add New -> Upload Plugin screen in WordPress. If FTP credentials are requested for installation (in order to move the file into place outside of the `uploads` directory) then the uploaded file remains temporary available in the Media Library despite it not being allowed. If the `DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT` constant is set to `true` on the site _and_ FTP credentials are required when uploading a new theme or plugin, then this technically allows an RCE when the user would otherwise have no means of executing arbitrary PHP code. This issue _only_ affects Administrator level users on single site installations, and Super Admin level users on Multisite installations where it's otherwise expected that the user does not have permission to upload or execute arbitrary PHP code. Lower level users are not affected. Sites where the `DISALLOW_FILE_MODS` constant is set to `true` are not affected. Sites where an administrative user either does not need to enter FTP credentials or they have access to the valid FTP credentials, are not affected. The issue was fixed in WordPress 6.4.3 on January 30, 2024 and backported to versions 6.3.3, 6.2.4, 6.1.5, 6.0.7, 5.9.9, 5.8.9, 5.7.11, 5.6.13, 5.5.14, 5.4.15, 5.3.17, 5.2.20, 5.1.18, 5.0.21, 4.9.25, 2.8.24, 4.7.28, 4.6.28, 4.5.31, 4.4.32, 4.3.33, 4.2.37, and 4.1.40. A workaround is available. If the `DISALLOW_FILE_MODS` constant is defined as `true` then it will not be possible for any user to upload a plugin and therefore this issue will not be exploitable.

Published: 2024-04-04 Last update: 2026-01-07 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2024-31210 is rated Moderate Risk (49.8/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.95%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2024-31210

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 1.20% 0.95% -0.26%
2 2026-05-13 0.99% 1.20% +0.21%
3 2026-04-30 0.99%

Full EPSS history (58 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2024-31210

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.6 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.0 6.0 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2024-31210

OS Trackers for CVE-2024-31210

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2024-31210 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (wordpress), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2024-31210
ubuntu medium CVE-2024-31210 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (wordpress), 10 status rows across 10 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, upstream, xenial): needs-triage 4, not-affected 4, ignored 1, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2024-31210

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2024-31210

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
wordpress wordpress < 4.1.40 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 4.2, < 4.2.37 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 4.3, < 4.3.33 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 4.4, < 4.4.32 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 4.5, < 4.5.31 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 4.6, < 4.6.28 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 4.7, < 4.7.28 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 4.8, < 4.8.24 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 4.9, < 4.9.25 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 5.0, < 5.0.21 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 5.1, < 5.1.18 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 5.2, < 5.2.20 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 5.3, < 5.3.17 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 5.4, < 5.4.15 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 5.5, < 5.5.14 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 5.6, < 5.6.13 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 5.7, < 5.7.11 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 5.8, < 5.8.9 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 5.9, < 5.9.9 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 6.0, < 6.0.7 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 6.1, < 6.1.5 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 6.2, < 6.2.4 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 6.3, < 6.3.3 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
wordpress wordpress >= 6.4.0, < 6.4.3 cpe:2.3:a:wordpress:wordpress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2024-31210

cvelogic Threat Intelligence