CVE-2016-6896

HIGHNVD 7.17.4▲
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 7.4 because EPSS predicts 38% probability of exploitation within the next 30 days (top 1.6% of all CVEs). NVD baseline CVSS 7.1 retained for reference. Confidence: see factors.

Triggered by: EPSS exploit prediction ≥85%
Sources: epss, ghsa, nvd
Weaponized
7.1
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS: 38%CVSS: 7.1Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

Directory traversal vulnerability in the wp_ajax_update_plugin function in wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php in WordPress 4.5.3 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service or read certain text files via a .. (dot dot) in the plugin parameter to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php, as demonstrated by /dev/random read operations that deplete the entropy pool.

CVSS v3
7.1
EG Score
7.4(high)
EG Risk
64(Track)
EG Risk 64/100SSVC: Track

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity74% × 45%
Exploitation65% × 40%
Automatability30% × 15%
Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence.
EPSS
98.4%
KEV
Not listed

Published

January 18, 2017

Last Modified

May 13, 2026

References (10)

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 12× in last 7d / 32× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-07-24 14:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-07-23 14:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-07-23 01:24 UTCEG score recompute▲ 0.30
  4. 2026-07-22 22:03 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-07-22 14:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-21 15:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-07-21 15:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-07-20 17:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-07-19 02:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-07-19 02:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-07-18 10:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-07-18 10:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-07-16 16:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-07-16 16:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-07-15 16:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-07-15 16:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-07-15 01:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-07-13 22:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-07-13 06:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-07-12 05:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-07-12 05:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-07-12 04:41 UTCOSV refresh
  23. 2026-07-11 08:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-07-09 19:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-07-06 16:24 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 56 more
  1. 2026-07-06 16:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-07-04 06:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-06-28 14:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-06-28 04:53 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-06-27 03:05 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-06-25 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-06-24 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-06-23 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-06-23 10:58 UTCOSV refresh
  11. 2026-06-22 14:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-06-19 19:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-06-19 19:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-06-18 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-06-18 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-06-17 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-17 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-06-16 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-06-15 17:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-06-13 22:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-13 22:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-12 23:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-11 13:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  27. 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  28. 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  29. 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-06-06 12:12 UTCOSV refresh
  31. 2026-06-05 22:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  32. 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  33. 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-06-04 13:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  35. 2026-06-04 13:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  36. 2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  37. 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  38. 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  39. 2026-05-31 00:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  40. 2026-05-29 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
  41. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  42. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  43. 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
  44. 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
  45. 2026-05-26 07:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  46. 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  47. 2026-05-22 17:06 UTCEG score recompute
  48. 2026-05-22 17:05 UTCGHSA enrichment
  49. 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  50. 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  51. 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  52. 2026-05-20 11:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  53. 2026-05-20 11:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  54. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  55. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  56. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore

Publicly available exploits

(1 reference)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • Exploit-DBEDB-40288✓ verified
    First seen Aug 22, 2016

    WordPress Core 4.5.3 - Directory Traversal / Denial of Service

    Open source ↗

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2016-6896?
CVE-2016-6896 is a high vulnerability published on January 18, 2017. Directory traversal vulnerability in the wpajaxupdate_plugin function in wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php in WordPress 4.5.3 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service or read certain text files via a .. (dot dot) in the plugin parameter to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php, as…
When was CVE-2016-6896 disclosed?
CVE-2016-6896 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on January 18, 2017, with the most recent update on May 13, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2016-6896 actively exploited?
CVE-2016-6896 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 98.4% percentile likelihood of exploitation in the next 30 days — higher percentiles indicate greater predicted risk.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-6896?
CVE-2016-6896 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.1 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 7.4.
How do I remediate CVE-2016-6896?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2016-6896, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

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