{"id":"CVE-2026-118241","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2026-118241"],"related":[],"title":"WordPress Smush plugin lets authors alter other users' media files","description":"The Smush  WordPress plugin before 4.3.6 does not verify that a user is authorised to act on the targeted media attachment, only checking a broad upload-files capability, which allows users with the Author role and above to optimise and restore attachments owned by other users, altering their files on disk and consuming the stored backup.","summary":"The Smush WordPress plugin before 4.3.6 checks only a broad upload capability, not ownership, before acting on media attachments. An logged-in author can optimise or restore attachments owned by other users, changing files on disk and consuming their stored backups.","severity":"low","cvss":null,"epss":null,"exploited":false,"exploited_at":null,"products":[],"ecosystems":[],"tags":["package","self-hosted","smush","wordpress"],"not_affected_if":["no-author-accounts","plugin-at-4.3.6-or-later"],"how_to_check":"- Check the installed Smush version in the WordPress plugins list or the plugin's `smush.php` header; versions below `4.3.6` are affected.\n- Review which users hold the Author role or higher on the site.","fix":"- Smush `4.3.6` (versions before this are affected, per the advisory).","status":"open","published_at":"2026-11-11T06:17:14+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-11T06:25:41+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-11-11T06:27:45+00:00","updated_at":"2026-11-11T06:27:45+00:00","category":"package","confidence":0.7,"triage":{"at":"2026-11-11T06:27:45Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"- Smush `4.3.6` (versions before this are affected, per the advisory).","reach":"internet","title":"WordPress Smush plugin lets authors alter other users' media files","impact":"low","summary":"The Smush WordPress plugin before 4.3.6 checks only a broad upload capability, not ownership, before acting on media attachments. An logged-in author can optimise or restore attachments owned by other users, changing files on disk and consuming their stored backups.","audience":"businesses","category":"package","nicknames":[],"who_cares":["wordpress","smush","self-hosted"],"confidence":0.7,"fix_status":"available","needs_auth":"yes","worst_case":"authenticated author alters other users' media files on disk","analyst_note":"product_name not provided; source gives no severity or CVSS score.\n","how_to_check":"- Check the installed Smush version in the WordPress plugins list or the plugin's `smush.php` header; versions below `4.3.6` are affected.\n- Review which users hold the Author role or higher on the site.","plain_action":"","product_name":"","needs_analyst":false,"not_affected_if":["plugin-at-4.3.6-or-later","no-author-accounts"],"who_is_affected":"Sites running the Smush image optimisation plugin before 4.3.6 that have users with the Author role or above. An attacker needs a logged-in account with at least Author rights, and can only act on media owned by other users. Sites without Smush, or with only administrators and editors, are not exposed.","user_interaction":"no","product_ecosystem":"","needs_special_setup":"no","severity_if_unknown":"low"},"cost_usd":0.000726,"input_tokens":4547,"output_tokens":542,"severity_before":"unknown"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-118241':13A,16A '-2026':12A,15A '4.3.6':28B,70C 'act':38B,80C 'allow':95C 'alter':6A,112C 'attach':41B,51B,85C,107C 'author':5A,46B,99C 'authoris':78C 'backup':64B,121C 'broad':32B,89C 'capabl':34B,93C 'chang':56B 'check':29B,87C 'consum':61B,118C 'cve':11A,14A 'disk':59B,116C 'file':10A,57B,92C,114C 'host':20B 'let':4A 'log':44B 'logged-in':43B 'media':9A,40B,84C 'optimis':48B,104C 'own':52B,108C 'ownership':36B 'packag':17B 'plugin':3A,26B,68C 'restor':50B,106C 'role':100C 'self':19B 'self-host':18B 'smush':2A,21B,24B,66C 'store':63B,120C 'target':83C 'upload':33B,91C 'upload-fil':90C 'user':8A,55B,76C,96C,111C 'verifi':73C 'wordpress':1A,22B,25B,67C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":"Sites running the Smush image optimisation plugin before 4.3.6 that have users with the Author role or above. An attacker needs a logged-in account with at least Author rights, and can only act on media owned by other users. Sites without Smush, or with only administrators and editors, are not exposed.","tier":"C","verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"fix_status":"available","audience":"businesses","plain_action":null,"pkeys":[],"ptokens":[],"labels":["low","package","selfhosted","smush","wordpress"],"campaign_type":null,"search_a":"'-118241':13A,16A '-2026':12A,15A 'alter':6A 'author':5A 'cve':11A,14A 'file':10A 'let':4A 'media':9A 'plugin':3A 'smush':2A 'user':8A 'wordpress':1A","search_b":"'4.3.6':28B 'act':38B 'attach':41B,51B 'author':46B 'backup':64B 'broad':32B 'capabl':34B 'chang':56B 'check':29B 'consum':61B 'disk':59B 'file':57B 'host':20B 'log':44B 'logged-in':43B 'media':40B 'optimis':48B 'own':52B 'ownership':36B 'packag':17B 'plugin':26B 'restor':50B 'self':19B 'self-host':18B 'smush':21B,24B 'store':63B 'upload':33B 'user':55B 'wordpress':22B,25B","search_c":"'4.3.6':70C 'act':80C 'allow':95C 'alter':112C 'attach':85C,107C 'author':99C 'authoris':78C 'backup':121C 'broad':89C 'capabl':93C 'check':87C 'consum':118C 'disk':116C 'file':92C,114C 'media':84C 'optimis':104C 'own':108C 'plugin':68C 'restor':106C 'role':100C 'smush':66C 'store':120C 'target':83C 'upload':91C 'upload-fil':90C 'user':76C,96C,111C 'verifi':73C 'wordpress':67C","cause_entry":null,"cause_path":null,"disclosures_checked_at":null,"first_public_at":"2026-11-11T06:17:14+00:00","kev":null,"cvss_vector":null,"cvss_by":null,"poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2026-118241","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-118241","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-11-11T06:17:14+00:00","modified_at":"2026-11-11T06:17:14+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-11T06:25:41+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-11-11T06:25:41+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"disclosures":[],"exploit_sources":[],"notice":"Free to read, with fair use of about 60 pages a minute. For higher limits or API access: sales@infrastack.ai"}