CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-87909NVD status: Deferred

WP Photo Album Plus: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-87909 is a high-severity improper neutralization of special elements in output used by a downstream component vulnerability in WP Photo Album Plus from Opajaap, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected WP Photo Album Plus versions: 9.2.09.002 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 0.91% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 61% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of WP Photo Album Plus you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
OpajaapWP Photo Album Plus9.2.09.002 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
HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
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
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

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

Official description

The WP Photo Album Plus plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in all versions via the wppa_image_magick function. This is due to insufficient sanitization of the multipart upload filename before concatenation into an ImageMagick command string executed via exec(), with only escapeshellcmd() applied to the whole command rather than quoting individual arguments. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to execute code on the server. escapeshellcmd() escapes shell metacharacters but does not prevent argument injection because spaces remain as argument separators, and the filename sanitization applied at the database layer is never applied to the physical temporary file path used for ImageMagick processing.

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

The underlying weakness: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component

The product constructs all or part of a command, data structure, or record using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify how it is parsed or interpreted when it is sent to a downstream component.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Programming languages and supporting technologies might be chosen which are not subject to these issues.
  • Utilize an appropriate mix of allowlist and denylist parsing to filter control-plane syntax from all input.

More Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component vulnerabilities (CWE-74)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in WP Photo Album Plus

All WP Photo Album Plus vulnerabilities

Recent Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component vulnerabilities

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