CVE-2019-8942

CRITICALNVD 8.89.0▲
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 9.0 because EPSS predicts 83% probability of exploitation within the next 30 days (top 0.4% of all CVEs). NVD baseline CVSS 8.8 retained for reference. Confidence: see factors.

Triggered by: EPSS exploit prediction ≥85%
Sources: epss, ghsa, nvd
Weaponized
9.0EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch this weekExploitation is likely or a public exploit exists.
  • 1,460 internet-exposed hosts are running an affected version right now
  • High exploitation likelihood — EPSS 83%
  • Public exploit code is available (Metasploit, Exploit-DB (verified), epss top5pct, epss high, public exploit)
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 83%CVSS: 8.8Exploit: Metasploit · Exploit-DB (verified) · epss top5pct · epss high · public exploitExposed: 1,460

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

WordPress before 4.9.9 and 5.x before 5.0.1 allows remote code execution because an _wp_attached_file Post Meta entry can be changed to an arbitrary string, such as one ending with a .jpg?file.php substring. An attacker with author privileges can execute arbitrary code by uploading a crafted image containing PHP code in the Exif metadata. Exploitation can leverage CVE-2019-8943.

Live · internet exposure

1,460 internet-exposed hosts are running an affected version of CVE-2019-8942 right now.

across 49 countries (United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia)top: wordpress
See the live KEV-Exposure radar →Found passively from public internet-scan data — aggregate, host-redacted.

EchelonGraph is the only CVE feed that fuses live vulnerability intelligence with its own live internet-exposure radar — so you see not just that a CVE is exploited, but how much of the internet is exposed to it right now.

CVSS v3
8.8
EG Score
9.0(high)
EG Risk
78(Track)
EG Risk 78/100SSVC: 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
Severity90% × 45%
Exploitation83% × 40%
Automatability30% × 15%
Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence.
EPSS PROB
83%
EPSS %ILE
100%
KEV
Not listed

Published

February 20, 2019

Last Modified

November 21, 2024

Advisory Details (8)

Auto-updated Aug 16, 2026
🔬 Proof of concept available. Patch available.
generic

Locked Out | Packet Storm

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152396/WordPress-5.0.0-crop-image-Shell-Upload.html
generic🟡 PoC Available

WordPress Core 5.0.0 - Crop-image Shell Upload (Metasploit) - PHP remote Exploit

https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46662/
generic🟡 PoC Available

WordPress Core 5.0 - Remote Code Execution - PHP webapps Exploit

https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46511/
generic

[SECURITY] [DSA 4401-1] wordpress security update

https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4401
generic Patch Available

[SECURITY] [DLA 1742-1] wordpress security update

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/03/msg00044.html
generic

Sonar blog | Sonar

https://blog.ripstech.com/2019/wordpress-image-remote-code-execution/
generic

SecurityFocus

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/107088
generic

WordPress Crop-image Shell Upload | Metasploit Module

http://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/multi/http/wp_crop_rce

Affected Packages

(6 across 6 ecosystems)
Debian:11(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
wordpress—5.0.1+dfsg1-1—
Debian:12(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
wordpress—5.0.1+dfsg1-1—
Debian:13(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
wordpress—5.0.1+dfsg1-1—
Debian:14(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
wordpress—5.0.1+dfsg1-1—
Debian:8(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
wordpress4.1+dfsg-1 ... 4.1.25+dfsg-1+deb8u1 (21 versions)4.1.26+dfsg-1+deb8u1—
Debian:9(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
wordpress4.7.5+dfsg-2 ... 4.7.5+dfsg-2+deb9u4 (7 versions)4.7.5+dfsg-2+deb9u5—

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 3× in last 7d / 10× 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. 2026-09-18 19:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-09-17 19:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-09-16 14:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-09-12 14:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-09-08 16:34 UTCOSV refresh
  6. 2026-09-06 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-09-05 15:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-09-01 03:32 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-08-26 14:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-08-22 02:11 UTCOSV refresh
  11. 2026-08-19 17:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-08-13 21:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-08-12 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-08-06 06:24 UTCOSV refresh
  15. 2026-08-05 19:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-07-26 14:51 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-07-24 14:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-07-23 14:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-07-23 01:47 UTCEG score recompute▲ 0.20
  20. 2026-07-22 22:30 UTCEG score recompute▼ 0.20
  21. 2026-07-22 14:05 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-07-20 22:02 UTCOSV refresh
  23. 2026-07-20 17:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-07-15 16:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-07-13 22:27 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 37 more
  1. 2026-07-13 22:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-07-11 08:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-07-11 08:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-07-09 19:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-07-05 02:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-03 17:26 UTCOSV refresh
  7. 2026-07-01 15:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-07-01 15:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-06-25 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-06-25 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-06-23 21:31 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-06-23 21:31 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-06-21 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-06-21 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-06-18 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-06-18 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-15 17:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-06-15 06:13 UTCOSV refresh
  21. 2026-06-12 23:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-06-12 23:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-08 14:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-08 14:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-08 14:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  27. 2026-06-04 13:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  28. 2026-06-04 13:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  29. 2026-05-28 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-05-28 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  31. 2026-05-27 22:24 UTCEG score recompute
  32. 2026-05-27 22:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  33. 2026-05-26 23:13 UTCOSV refresh
  34. 2026-05-26 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  35. 2026-05-26 07:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  36. 2026-05-26 07:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  37. 2026-05-26 07:17 UTCEPSS rescore

Publicly available exploits

(5 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module) (2 GitHub PoCs) (2 Exploit-DB entries). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • GitHub PoCsynacktiv/CVE-2019-8942
    First seen May 2, 2019

    WordPress crop-image exploitation

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-46662✓ verified
    First seen Apr 5, 2019

    WordPress Core 5.0.0 - Crop-image Shell Upload (Metasploit)

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-46511
    First seen Mar 1, 2019

    WordPress Core 5.0 - Remote Code Execution

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCbrianwrf/WordPress_4.9.8_RCE_POC
    First seen Feb 25, 2019

    A simple PoC for WordPress RCE (author priviledge), refer to CVE-2019-8942 and CVE-2019-8943.

    Open source ↗
  • Metasploitexploit/multi/http/wp_crop_rce✓ verified
    First seen Feb 19, 2019

    WordPress Crop-image Shell Upload

    Open source ↗

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2019-8942?
CVE-2019-8942 is a critical vulnerability published on February 20, 2019. WordPress before 4.9.9 and 5.x before 5.0.1 allows remote code execution because an wpattached_file Post Meta entry can be changed to an arbitrary string, such as one ending with a .jpg?file.php substring. An attacker with author privileges can execute arbitrary code by uploading a crafted image…
When was CVE-2019-8942 disclosed?
CVE-2019-8942 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on February 20, 2019, with the most recent update on November 21, 2024. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2019-8942 actively exploited?
CVE-2019-8942 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 83% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the top 0.3% of all scored CVEs.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-8942?
CVE-2019-8942 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.8 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 9.0.
How do I remediate CVE-2019-8942?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2019-8942, 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.

Dependency Blast Radius

See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2019-8942

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