WordPress Plugin Vulnerabilities
W3 Total Cache < 2.10.5 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary Directory File Write and .htaccess Overwrite via Path Traversal in the Page Cache Key
Description
The plugin does not properly validate the request path it uses to build cache file names, allowing unauthenticated attackers to write a file into any existing directory on the server, inside or outside the web root, overwriting whatever occupies the target name.
On Apache, the same flaw overwrites the site's .htaccess files, which breaks the site and can strip hardening rules that other security measures rely on.
Proof of Concept
Affects Plugins
References
CVE
Classification
Type
TRAVERSAL
OWASP top 10
CWE
CVSS
Miscellaneous
Original Researcher
Jakub Herman
Submitter
Jakub Herman
Submitter website
Verified
Yes
WPVDB ID
Timeline
Publicly Published
2026-08-17 (about 3 days ago)
Added
2026-08-17 (about 2 days ago)
Last Updated
2026-08-17 (about 2 days ago)