CVE-2026-9834 | WP Database Backup <= 7.11 - Authenticated (Administrator+) OS Command Injection via 'wp_db_exclude_table' Parameter

The WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to OS Command Injection in all versions up to and including 7.11 via the `wp_db_exclude_table` parameter. This is due to the direct concatenation of user-supplied `$_POST['wp_db_exclude_table']` values into the `mysqldump` shell command string in the `mysqldump()` function of `includes/admin/class-wpdb-admin.php` without wrapping them in `escapeshellarg()`—every other argument in the same command (DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, host, filename, DB_NAME) is properly escaped, making the exclude-table values the sole exception—and because the only applied filtering, `sanitize_text_field()` via `recursive_sanitize_text_field()`, strips HTML tags but leaves shell metacharacters such as `;`, `|`, `` ` ``, and `$()` intact. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with administrator-level access and above, to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the server, potentially enabling full remote code execution. The injection is stored: malicious values submitted through the plugin settings form are persisted to the WordPress options table via `update_option('wp_db_exclude_table')` and later retrieved with `get_option()` and passed unsanitized to `shell_exec()` whenever a backup operation runs.

Published: 2026-07-02 Last update: 2026-07-02 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-9834 is rated Moderate Risk (53.2/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.59%). 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-2026-9834

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 2026-07-03 2.65% 1.59% -1.06%
2 2026-07-02 2.65%

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-9834

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.2 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/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:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
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.
1.2 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-9834

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-9834

GHSA-9g3c-r4j4-8m9r · Severity: high — The WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP plugin for WordPress...

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-9834

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2026-9834

URL Tags
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-database-backup/tags/7.10/includes/admin/class-wpdb-admin.php#L216
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-database-backup/tags/7.10/includes/admin/class-wpdb-admin.php#L2644
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-database-backup/tags/7.10/includes/admin/class-wpdb-admin.php#L2654
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-database-backup/tags/7.11/includes/admin/class-wpdb-admin.php#L216
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-database-backup/tags/7.11/includes/admin/class-wpdb-admin.php#L2644
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-database-backup/tags/7.11/includes/admin/class-wpdb-admin.php#L2654
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=3574273%40wp-database-backup&new=3574273%40wp-database-backup&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/0a97a217-b00b-4268-a472-8d62ae1d18e3?source=cve
cvelogic Threat Intelligence