CVE-2024-49326 — CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) AI Security Vulnerability

CISO Take

CVE-2024-49326 is a critical unauthenticated arbitrary file upload in WordPress Affiliator plugin (≤2.1.3) enabling web shell deployment with no credentials required. Any WordPress server hosting this plugin alongside AI APIs, model inference endpoints, or data pipelines is exposed to full host compromise. Disable or remove the plugin immediately—no patched version is confirmed available.

Risk Assessment

Risk is critical. CVSS 9.8 with AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N means automated scanners and script-kiddies can exploit at scale without any prior access. Full CIA triad impact confirmed. The absence of a confirmed patched version means organizations must remove the plugin entirely rather than patching. AI/ML servers sharing infrastructure with WordPress deployments face downstream compromise of model credentials, API keys, and training data.

Affected Systems

Package	Ecosystem	Vulnerable Range	Patched
affiliator	pip	—	No patch
64.1K OpenSSF 7.0 1.5K dependents Pushed 7d ago 53% patched ~32d to patch Full package profile →

Do you use affiliator? You're affected.

Severity & Risk

CVSS 3.1

9.8 / 10

EPSS

0.6%

chance of exploitation in 30 days

Higher than 69% of all CVEs

Source: EPSS v3 — FIRST.org

Exploitation Status

Exploit Available

Exploitation: MEDIUM

Sophistication

Trivial

Exploitation Confidence

medium

○ Public PoC indexed (trickest/cve)

Composite signal derived from CISA KEV, CISA SSVC, EPSS, trickest/cve, and Nuclei templates.

Attack Surface

AV Network

AC Low

PR None

UI None

S Unchanged

C High

I High

A High

Recommended Action

7 steps

Audit all WordPress installations: check active plugins for Affiliator ≤2.1.3 (wp plugin list --status=active).
Disable and remove the plugin immediately; no patched version confirmed.
Deploy WAF rules blocking multipart POST uploads to wp-content/plugins/affiliator paths.
Hunt for existing compromise: find /var/www -name '*.php' -newer /var/www/wp-config.php -mtime -90.
Review web server access logs for POST requests to plugin upload endpoints originating from unusual IPs.
Rotate all API keys and credentials stored on or accessible from the affected host.
If compromise suspected, isolate host, preserve logs, and conduct forensic review before restoring.

CISA SSVC Assessment

Decision Track*

Exploitation none

Automatable Yes

Technical Impact total

Source: CISA Vulnrichment (SSVC v2.0). Decision based on the CISA Coordinator decision tree.

Classification

Code Execution Auth Bypass Supply Chain Framework API AML.T0010.001 - AI Software AML.T0025 - Exfiltration via Cyber Means AML.T0049 - Exploit Public-Facing Application AML.T0050 - Command and Scripting Interpreter AML.T0055 - Unsecured Credentials AML.T0072 - Reverse Shell

Compliance Impact

This CVE is relevant to:

EU AI Act

Article 9 - Risk Management System

ISO 42001

A.7.4 - Information security in supplier relationships

NIST AI RMF

MANAGE-2.2 - Mechanisms to sustain AI risk management across the AI lifecycle

OWASP LLM Top 10

LLM05 - Supply Chain Vulnerabilities

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-49326?

CVE-2024-49326 is a critical unauthenticated arbitrary file upload in WordPress Affiliator plugin (≤2.1.3) enabling web shell deployment with no credentials required. Any WordPress server hosting this plugin alongside AI APIs, model inference endpoints, or data pipelines is exposed to full host compromise. Disable or remove the plugin immediately—no patched version is confirmed available.

Is CVE-2024-49326 actively exploited?

Proof-of-concept exploit code is publicly available for CVE-2024-49326, increasing the risk of exploitation.

How to fix CVE-2024-49326?

1. Audit all WordPress installations: check active plugins for Affiliator ≤2.1.3 (wp plugin list --status=active). 2. Disable and remove the plugin immediately; no patched version confirmed. 3. Deploy WAF rules blocking multipart POST uploads to wp-content/plugins/affiliator paths. 4. Hunt for existing compromise: find /var/www -name '*.php' -newer /var/www/wp-config.php -mtime -90. 5. Review web server access logs for POST requests to plugin upload endpoints originating from unusual IPs. 6. Rotate all API keys and credentials stored on or accessible from the affected host. 7. If compromise suspected, isolate host, preserve logs, and conduct forensic review before restoring.

What systems are affected by CVE-2024-49326?

This vulnerability affects the following AI/ML architecture patterns: web application frontends hosting AI services, shared infrastructure with AI API gateways, WordPress-based AI demo or documentation portals, model serving environments on multi-tenant web servers.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2024-49326?

CVE-2024-49326 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). The EPSS exploitation probability is 0.58%.

Technical Details

NVD Description

Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type vulnerability in Vasilis Kerasiotis Affiliator allows Upload a Web Shell to a Web Server.This issue affects Affiliator: from n/a through 2.1.3.

Exploitation Scenario

Automated WordPress scanner identifies a site running Affiliator ≤2.1.3. Attacker crafts a multipart POST request to the plugin's file upload handler, submitting a PHP web shell with a spoofed image MIME type. The shell is written to the WordPress uploads or plugin directory and immediately accessible via HTTP. Attacker uses the shell to enumerate the host, finds .env files containing OpenAI/Anthropic API keys and database connection strings for a connected RAG system, exfiltrates them, and establishes persistence via crontab. Secondary attack: API keys used to exfiltrate proprietary training data or launch cost-harvesting attacks against the victim's AI services.