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

Fixed in 2.10.5

References

Classification

Type
TRAVERSAL
OWASP top 10
CWE

Miscellaneous

Original Researcher
Jakub Herman
Submitter
Jakub Herman
Submitter website
Verified
Yes

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)

Other