CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-115483NVD status: Deferred

Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form…: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-115483 is a high-severity improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory vulnerability in Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI from Wpeverest, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI versions: 3.6.3 and earlier. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.64% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 51% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
WpeverestEverest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI3.6.3 and earlierNot stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
NoneNothing can be modified.
Availability
NoneAvailability is not affected.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N. Scored by CNA (wordfence.com).

Official description

The Everest Forms plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Read in all versions up to, and including, 3.6.3 via the attach_entry_files() function. This is due to the function attaching any entry field value whose meta key matches /signature_/ to the notification email after only a file_exists() check, without validating or restricting the path. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to read the contents of arbitrary files on the server, such as wp-config.php, which can contain sensitive information. Successful exploitation requires a form whose email notification has the “Attach Files” setting enabled and that contains a field with a meta key matching /signature_/ (for example, a text field labelled “Signature”), with the notification routed to an attacker-supplied email address so the exfiltrated file is delivered to the attacker. Note: The Everest Forms Pro add-on is required to exploit this vulnerability, as it provides the signature field and the email file-attachment functionality (file-email-attachments) that the attack relies on.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory

The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
  • Use an application firewall that can detect attacks against this weakness. It can be beneficial in cases in which the code cannot be fixed (because it is controlled by a third party), as an emergency prevention measure while more comprehensive software assurance measures are applied, or to provide defense in depth.

More Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory vulnerabilities (CWE-22)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other references

Other vulnerabilities in Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI

All Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI vulnerabilities

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