CVE-2021-24377: Autoptimize < 2.7.8 - Race Condition leading to RCE

Severity: high (CVSS 8.1 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 1.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: yes
Published: 2021-06-21 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-362

Description

The Autoptimize WordPress plugin before 2.7.8 attempts to remove potential malicious files from the extracted archive uploaded via the 'Import Settings' feature, however this is not sufficient to protect against RCE as a race condition can be achieved in between the moment the file is extracted on the disk but not yet removed. It is a bypass of CVE-2020-24948.

Affected products

Autoptimize: before 2.7.8 — fixed in 2.7.8

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Autoptimize 2.7.8. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/85c0a564-2e56-413d-bc3a-1039343207e4
https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/85c0a564-2e56-413d-bc3a-1039343207e4

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