Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2025-2636 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Wordpress (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 8.1 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 5% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
The InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to local file inclusion in all versions through 0.1.0.85. The flaw exists in the handling of the instawp-database-manager parameter, which can be abused to include and execute arbitrary local files, enabling an attacker to run PHP code present on the server. The issue is tracked as CWE-22 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.1.
Unauthenticated attackers reachable over the network can exploit the parameter to bypass access controls, read sensitive data, or obtain code execution when a separate vulnerability permits arbitrary file uploads or when suitable PHP files already exist on the filesystem. The attack requires high complexity because the plugin itself does not provide a file-upload primitive, so remote code execution is not achievable with this issue alone on most sites.
Public references point to a patched version released via the WordPress plugin repository changeset 3269681, which addresses the loader.php file at the cited line; administrators are advised to update the plugin promptly. Wordfence threat intelligence further documents the vulnerability and confirms the availability of the fix.
EPSS for the CVE rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.1354 on 2025-12-11 before receding to the current value of 0.0680, indicating a measurable increase in exploitation interest after disclosure. No confirmed in-the-wild exploitation has been reported.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-10733
Vulnerability Data
The InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion in all versions up to, and including, 0.1.0.85 via the 'instawp-database-manager' parameter. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to include and…
more
execute arbitrary files on the server, allowing the execution of any PHP code in those files. This can be used to bypass access controls, obtain sensitive data, or achieve code execution in cases where php file types can be uploaded and included, or are already present on the filesystem locally. There are currently no known vulnerabilities in this plugin that make file upload possible, meaning this won't be exploitable to achieve remote code execution on most instances with just this plugin alone. Another vulnerability would need to be present on the site allowing arbitrary file upload in order to leverage this to achieve remote code execution.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
—
—
—
V5.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.
Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction occurs.
Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.
PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.
Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.
Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.
Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.