CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-14490NVD status: Deferred

Demi – One Click Demo Import, Backup & Site…: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-14490 is a high-severity improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory vulnerability in Demi – One Click Demo Import, Backup & Site Migration from Deveasel, 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 Demi – One Click Demo Import, Backup & Site Migration versions: 0.0.7 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 0.76% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 56% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of Demi – One Click Demo Import, Backup & Site Migration 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
DeveaselDemi – One Click Demo Import, Backup & Site Migration0.0.7 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 Demi – One Click Demo Import, WP Backup & Site Migration plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary Directory Deletion in all versions up to, and including, 0.0.7. The vulnerability exists because the plugin stores its HMAC signing key and per-step restore token as dotfiles inside a publicly accessible subdirectory of the WordPress uploads folder — without any `.htaccess` or index file protection — and the `demi_restore_step` AJAX handler, registered for unauthenticated callers, explicitly accepts possession of the on-disk signing key as a standalone alternative to WordPress capability and nonce checks; an unauthenticated attacker who retrieves the exposed key can forge a valid signed state envelope to invoke `CleanDir::execute()` with a caller-supplied absolute path that is subject to no allow-list or path-canonicalization check. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to recursively delete arbitrary directories on the server.

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).

References

Other references

Recent Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory vulnerabilities

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