{"id":"CVE-2026-111862","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2026-111862"],"related":[],"title":"Rank Math SEO PRO for WordPress is affected by a supply-chain compromise in a subset of version 3.0.123 packages…","description":"Rank Math SEO PRO for WordPress is affected by a supply-chain compromise in a subset of version 3.0.123 packages downloaded or updated between October 15, 2026 at 20:02 UTC and October 16, 2026 at 07:12 UTC. Rank Math states that the affected plugin files contained malware that could compromise a website if the plugin was activated and directs sites that activated an affected package to treat the website as compromised. The malware may establish persistent access, communicate with rank1cdn[.]com, recreate hidden backdoors on page visits, and expose WordPress credentials, database credentials, API keys, and other secrets accessible to the web server. Rank Math identifies three malicious wp_options keys, hidden PHP backdoors, unauthorized administrator accounts, a fake WordPress core file, PHP-executable .cache files, and a system cron marker as incident indicators. Only packages obtained during the vendor-confirmed window are claimed as affected; version 3.0.123 alone is not sufficient to establish compromise. Rank Math removed the affected files and released version 3.0.124 as the clean replacement.","summary":"Rank Math SEO PRO for WordPress version 3.0.123 packages downloaded or updated between October 15 and October 16, 2026 contained malware from a supply-chain compromise. An attacker who gets the plugin activated gets persistent access, backdoors, and the website's WordPress, database, API and other server-side secrets.","severity":"critical","cvss":9.8,"epss":null,"exploited":false,"exploited_at":null,"products":[],"ecosystems":[],"tags":["package","rank-math","self-hosted","wordpress"],"not_affected_if":["not-in-window-package","plugin-not-activated","version-3.0.124-or-later"],"how_to_check":"Check whether an installed Rank Math SEO PRO 3.0.123 package was downloaded or updated in the October 15 20:02 UTC to October 16 07:12 UTC 2026 window; look for the vendor's listed indicators: three malicious wp_options keys, hidden PHP backdoors, unauthorized administrator accounts, a fake WordPress core file, PHP-executable .cache files, a system cron marker, and connections to rank1cdn[.]com.\nTreat any site that activated an affected package as compromised, per the vendor.\nFull indicator details: unknown beyond the vendor notice.","fix":"Update to Rank Math SEO PRO 3.0.124 or later, which the vendor released as the clean replacement.\nFor any site that activated an affected package, rotate WordPress, database, and API credentials and remove unauthorized admins and backdoors; the vendor directs treating the site as compromised.","status":"open","published_at":"2026-10-19T17:17:04+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:18+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-23T22:04:40+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-23T22:28:57+00:00","category":"package","confidence":0.8,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-23T22:04:40Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"Update to Rank Math SEO PRO 3.0.124 or later, which the vendor released as the clean replacement.\nFor any site that activated an affected package, rotate WordPress, database, and API credentials and remove unauthorized admins and backdoors; the vendor directs treating the site as compromised.","reach":"internet","impact":"high","summary":"Rank Math SEO PRO for WordPress version 3.0.123 packages downloaded or updated between October 15 and October 16, 2026 contained malware from a supply-chain compromise. An attacker who gets the plugin activated gets persistent access, backdoors, and the website's WordPress, database, API and other server-side secrets.","category":"package","who_cares":["wordpress","rank-math","self-hosted"],"confidence":0.8,"needs_auth":"no","worst_case":"Attacker runs code on server and reads all site and database secrets.","analyst_note":"Confirm the vendor advisory and full indicator list from Rank Math directly; the NVD entry alone does not give remediation steps beyond the 3.0.124 replacement.","how_to_check":"Check whether an installed Rank Math SEO PRO 3.0.123 package was downloaded or updated in the October 15 20:02 UTC to October 16 07:12 UTC 2026 window; look for the vendor's listed indicators: three malicious wp_options keys, hidden PHP backdoors, unauthorized administrator accounts, a fake WordPress core file, PHP-executable .cache files, a system cron marker, and connections to rank1cdn[.]com.\nTreat any site that activated an affected package as compromised, per the vendor.\nFull indicator details: unknown beyond the vendor notice.","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["not-in-window-package","plugin-not-activated","version-3.0.124-or-later"],"user_interaction":"yes","needs_special_setup":"no","severity_if_unknown":"critical"},"cost_usd":0.000636,"input_tokens":3035,"output_tokens":665,"severity_before":"critical"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-111862':24A,27A '-2026':23A,26A '02':117C '07':124C '12':125C '15':50B,113C '16':53B,121C '20':116C '2026':54B,114C,122C '3.0.123':20A,43B,106C,239C '3.0.124':256C 'access':72B,166C,188C 'account':206C 'activ':69B,146C,151C 'administr':205C 'affect':8A,94C,132C,153C,237C,251C 'alon':240C 'api':80B,183C 'attack':64B 'backdoor':73B,173C,203C 'cach':215C 'chain':13A,61B,99C 'claim':235C 'clean':259C 'com':170C 'communic':167C 'compromis':14A,62B,100C,139C,160C,246C 'confirm':232C 'contain':55B,135C 'core':210C 'could':138C 'credenti':180C,182C 'cron':220C 'cve':22A,25A 'databas':79B,181C 'direct':148C 'download':45B,108C 'establish':164C,245C 'execut':214C 'expos':178C 'fake':208C 'file':134C,211C,216C,252C 'get':66B,70B 'hidden':172C,201C 'host':34B 'identifi':195C 'incid':223C 'indic':224C 'key':184C,200C 'malici':197C 'malwar':56B,136C,162C 'marker':221C 'math':2A,31B,37B,88C,128C,194C,248C 'may':163C 'obtain':227C 'octob':49B,52B,112C,120C 'option':199C 'packag':21A,28B,44B,107C,154C,226C 'page':175C 'persist':71B,165C 'php':202C,213C 'php-execut':212C 'plugin':68B,133C,144C 'pro':4A,39B,90C 'rank':1A,30B,36B,87C,127C,193C,247C 'rank-math':29B 'rank1cdn':169C 'recreat':171C 'releas':254C 'remov':249C 'replac':260C 'secret':86B,187C 'self':33B 'self-host':32B 'seo':3A,38B,89C 'server':84B,192C 'server-sid':83B 'side':85B 'site':149C 'state':129C 'subset':17A,103C 'suffici':243C 'suppli':12A,60B,98C 'supply-chain':11A,59B,97C 'system':219C 'three':196C 'treat':156C 'unauthor':204C 'updat':47B,110C 'utc':118C,126C 'vendor':231C 'vendor-confirm':230C 'version':19A,42B,105C,238C,255C 'visit':176C 'web':191C 'websit':76B,141C,158C 'window':233C 'wordpress':6A,35B,41B,78B,92C,179C,209C 'wp':198C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":null,"tier":"B","verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2026-10-19T17:17:04+00:00","kev":null,"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cvss_by":"security@wordfence.com","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2026-111862","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-111862","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-10-19T17:17:04+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-20T15:17:13+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:18+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T22:28:57+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}