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CVE-2026-16099: Podlove Podcast Publisher <= 4.5.3 - Authenticated (Contributor+) PHP Object Injection to Arbitrary File Deletion via 'unfurl_data' Parameter

• Severity: high (CVSS 8.8 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 1.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2026-08-16 · updated 2026-08-20
• Weakness: CWE-502

Description

The Podlove Podcast Publisher plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file deletion due to insufficient file path validation in the create_link_item function in all versions up to, and including, 4.5.3. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to delete arbitrary files on the server, which can easily lead to remote code execution when the right file is deleted (such as wp-config.php). A viable POP chain exists within the plugin itself via Podlove\ImageCache\GenerationGuard, whose __destruct() method invokes wp_delete_file() with an attacker-controlled file path populated through unserialization.

Affected products

• Podlove Podcast Publisher: through 4.5.3

References

• https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress/tags/4.5.3/lib/image_cache/generation_guard.php#L19
• https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress/tags/4.5.3/lib/image_cache/generation_guard.php#L57
• https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress/tags/4.5.3/lib/model/base.php#L552
• https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress/tags/4.5.3/lib/modules/shownotes/rest_api.php#L538
• https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress/tags/4.5.3/lib/modules/shownotes/rest_api.php#L585
• https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress/tags/4.5.3/lib/modules/shownotes/rest_api.php#L630
• https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3648110%40podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress&new=3648110%40podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress
• https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3aa6fd71-337f-4998-a15d-650aa4f6142c?source=cve

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