Findings

CVE-2026-4853

The JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Path Traversal leading to Arbitrary Directory Deletion in versions up to and including 3.1.19.8.

Published Apr 17, 2026 · updated Jun 17, 2026

The JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Path Traversal leading to Arbitrary Directory Deletion in versions up to and including 3.1.19.8. This is due to insufficient input validation on the fileName parameter in the file upload handler. The plugin sanitizes the fileName parameter using sanitize_text_field(), which removes HTML tags but does not prevent path traversal sequences like '../'. The unsanitized filename is then directly concatenated in Upload::getFileLocation() without using basename() or validating the resolved path stays within the intended directory. When an invalid file is uploaded, the cleanup logic calls dirname() on the traversed path and passes it to Util::rm(), which recursively deletes the entire resolved directory. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with administrator-level access to traverse outside the intended upload directory and trigger deletion of critical WordPress directories such as wp-content/plugins, effectively disabling all installed plugins and causing severe site disruption.

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Apr 17, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Detected

    The JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Path Traversal leading to Arbitrary Directory Deletion in versions up to and including 3.1.19.8. This is due to insufficient input validation on the fileName parameter in the file upload handler. The plugin sanitizes the fileName parameter using sanitize_text_field(), which removes HTML tags but does not prevent path t

  2. Jun 17, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Updated

    The JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Path Traversal leading to Arbitrary Directory Deletion in versions up to and including 3.1.19.8. This is due to insufficient input validation on the fileName parameter in the file upload handler. The plugin sanitizes the fileName parameter using sanitize_text_field(), which removes HTML tags but does not prevent path t

Sources

  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2026-4853

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2026-4853

    The JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Path Traversal leading to Arbitrary Directory Deletion in versions up to and including 3.1.19.8. This is due to insufficient input validation on the fileName parameter in the file upload handler. The

    nvd.nist.gov

References