Monitor vulnerabilities like this one.
Sign up free to get alerted when software you use is affected.
10.0
CVE-2026-18051: W3 Total Cache < 2.10.5 - Attackers Can Overwrite Important Files
CVE-2026-18051 · published 16 days ago
Summary
An outdated version of the W3 Total Cache plugin for WordPress allows attackers to write files into any directory on the server, including the site's .htaccess files. This can break the site and remove security settings. Update the plugin to the latest version to fix this issue.
What to do
- Update unknown w3 total cache to version 2.10.5 or later.
Affected software
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions |
|---|---|---|
| unknown | w3 total cache | < 2.10.5 |
Original advisory text
W3 Total Cache < 2.10.5 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary Directory File Write and .htaccess Overwrite via Path Traversal in the Page Cache Key
The W3 Total Cache WordPress plugin before 2.10.5 does not properly validate the request path it uses to build cache file names, allowing unauthenticated attackers to write a file into any existing directory on the server, inside or outside the web root, overwriting whatever occupies the target name.
On Apache, the same flaw overwrites the site's .htaccess files, which breaks the site and can strip hardening rules that other security measures rely on.
On Apache, the same flaw overwrites the site's .htaccess files, which breaks the site and can strip hardening rules that other security measures rely on.
Severity
10.0
Critical
Exploitation
EPSS <1%
Type
CWE-22Path Traversal
Timeline
Published19 Aug 2026
Updated3 Sep 2026
First seen19 Aug 2026
Monitor software like this
Free during beta