InstaWP Connect <= 0.1.3.6 - Unauthenticated Cryptographic Key Disclosure
| CVE | CVE-2026-13457 |
|---|---|
| CVSS | 7.5 (High) |
| Publicly Published | August 11, 2026 |
| Last Updated | August 11, 2026 |
| Researcher |
0xsabre
|
Description
The InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in all versions up to, and including, 0.1.3.6 via the (top-level script) function. This is due to the plugin stores its encrypted options file as options-{migrate_key}.txt in wp-content/instawpbackups/ without deploying an index.php or .htaccess to prevent directory listing, exposing the 40-character migrate_key on Apache servers with directory indexing enabled, which allows an attacker to derive the AES-256-CBC passphrase via SHA256(migrate_key), decrypt the options file to recover the api_signature. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to get the database access details and api_signature. Exploitation requires the target WordPress site to be hosted on Apache with directory listing enabled (Options +Indexes) for the wp-content/instawpbackups/ directory, and time limited because it can only be exploited during the migration period.
Learn more about Arbitrary File Upload vulnerabilities and how to prevent them.
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Vulnerability Details for InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration
| Software Type | Plugin |
|---|---|
| Software Slug | instawp-connect (view on wordpress.org) |
| Patched? | Yes |
| Remediation | Update to version 0.1.3.7, or a newer patched version |
| Affected Version |
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| Patched Version |
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Recent vulnerabilities in InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration
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