Vulnerability report

Exploited in the wild Confirmed confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2026-60137

WordPress < 7.0.2 Facilitated SQL Injection

WordPress · affected before 6.8.6

Watch CVE-2026-60137 Browse KEV feed
Severity
CVSS 5.9 · Medium
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Exploited in the wild
EPSS
5.3%
First observed
—
Last observed
—

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2026-60137 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting WordPress. WordPress 6.8.x before 6.8.6, 6.9.x before 6.9.5, and 7.0.x before 7.0.2 does not properly sanitise the author__not_in parameter of WP_Query,...

Is it exploited?

Yes. Previdian tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed. Listed in CISA KEV. Also confirmed by third-party sources.

Who is affected?

WordPress affected before 6.8.6.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

WordPress < 7.0.2 Facilitated SQL Injection

WordPress 6.8.x before 6.8.6, 6.9.x before 6.9.5, and 7.0.x before 7.0.2 does not properly sanitise the author__not_in parameter of WP_Query, which could allow SQL Injection when a plugin or theme passes untrusted input to the parameter.

WordPress Affected
WordPress
Before 6.8.6 Before 6.9.5 Before 7.0.2
View vendor advisory (opens in new tab)
Published
17 Jul 2026
Exploitation Reported
18 Jul 2026
Attack vector
Remote
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None

Tags

wordpress cisa

CVE References

Exploitation evidence

Why Previdian marks this CVE as exploited

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploited in the wild

PatchStack

Recorded 18 Jul 2026

A trusted third party reported exploitation.

Proof of concept available

GitHub

Recorded 21 Jul 2026

Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access
Source Added
Rapid7 First 2026-07-17 22:23 UTC
PatchStack 2026-07-18 15:32 UTC
Tenable Blog 2026-07-20 13:36 UTC
Dark Reading 2026-07-20 21:38 UTC
All CISA Advisories 2026-07-21 12:00 UTC
CISA 2026-07-21 14:32 UTC
CVE 2026-07-21 16:01 UTC
BleepingComputer 2026-07-21 16:41 UTC
The Hacker News 2026-09-22 11:32 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets
User-Agents
Callback hosts
0
0
0

Request targets and User-Agents available in Pro. Callback host details available in Enterprise.

Scanner coverage

No scanner integrations recorded yet.

Virtual patch status

No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

No detection artifacts or sensor request patterns are available for this CVE yet.

Check back as sensor telemetry and scanner integrations are updated.

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

5.9 Medium

Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

EPSS

5.3%

Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.

Weaknesses

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') CWE-89

Recent mention · The Hacker News

Eight Malicious npm Packages Downloaded 40,767 Times Deliver Overlord RAT and Stealer

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a long-running npm supply chain malware campaign that pushes information stealers and remote access trojans (RAT) to compromised hosts. The campaign has been codenamed MALFEX by CloudSEK and Checkmarx. The activity is...

Read full advisory

All Mentions

Recent mention · The Hacker News

Eight Malicious npm Packages Downloaded 40,767 Times Deliver Overlord RAT and Stealer

The Hacker News · 07 Oct 2026

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a long-running npm supply chain malware campaign that pushes information stealers and remote access trojans (RAT) to compromised hosts. The campaign has been codenamed MALFEX by CloudSEK and Checkmarx. The activity is assessed to be the work of a lone threat actor who appears to have published 12 packages since August 2023, eight of which have

Recent mention · SOCRadar

CyberXero: An AI-Augmented Initial Access Broker Targeting Ukrainian Critical Infrastructure

SOCRadar · 06 Oct 2026

CyberXero: An AI-Augmented Initial Access Broker Targeting Ukrainian Critical Infrastructure SOCRadar's Threat Research Unit (STRU) has documented CyberXero , a Russian-speaking, financially motivated Initial Access Brok

Recent mention · CyberInsider

WordPress “wp2shell” attacks stole 18,000 government records

CyberInsider · 22 Sep 2026

A suspected Chinese-speaking threat actor exploited WordPress vulnerabilities to breach dozens of organizations worldwide, stealing more than 18,000 sensitive records from one Western government agency. GreyNoise researchers tracked the attacker through the company’s Global Observation Grid (GOG), a network of internet-facing sensors designed to attract scanning and exploitation attempts. GreyNoise says it has monitored malicious … The post WordPress “wp2shell” attacks stole 18,000 government records appeared first on CyberInsider.

Recent mention · The Hacker News

Zyxel and Veeam Flaws Under Active Exploitation With Command and SYSTEM Access

The Hacker News · 22 Sep 2026

Ravie LakshmananSep 22, 2026Vulnerability / Endpoint Security The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Monday added a now-patched security flaw impacting Zyxel GS1900 series switches to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, citing evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-7273 (CVSS score: 8.8), is a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability that could result in arbitrary operating system (OS) command execution. "A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the CGI program of the Zyxel GS1900 series switch firmware...

Recent mention · GreyNoise

Open Season on Kapibala: Attacker Steals Over 18,000 Government Records Through WordPress Exploitation

GreyNoise · 21 Sep 2026

GreyNoise has been tracking malicious use of an IP address since early June 2026 due to its frequent use in scans and attacks against a variety of technologies. We detail a few of the more notable intrusions we observed including the theft of more than 18,000 sensitive records from a western government.

Recent mention · Rapid7

Metasploit Wrap Up: Lot of summer shells and fit http profiles

Rapid7 · 14 Aug 2026

This wrap-up brings a full-on shell parade. Thirteen shiny new modules landed, starting with a buffet of RCEs. WordPress WP2Shell, Ghost CMS, Joomla JCE, Langflow, OpenCATS, Pterodactyl Panel, SonicWall SMA1000, Ray Dashboard, a Pix-for-WooCommerce, and for those who like their exploits closer to the bare-metal, the Fragnesia Linux kernel LPE (CVE-2026-46300). Metasploit also got the glow-up of the summer with the new http malleable profiles, MCP functionality and linux multi fetch payloads (more details on the [official 6.5 release blog...

Recent mention · BleepingComputer

Critical wp2shell WordPress flaws exploited to install webshells

BleepingComputer · 21 Jul 2026

Hackers are exploiting the "wp2shell" critical vulnerability suite (CVE-2026-63030 and CVE-2026-60137) affecting WordPress Core to deploy persistent webshells and install malicious plugins on affected servers. [...]

Recent mention · All CISA Advisories

CISA Adds Four Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog

All CISA Advisories · 21 Jul 2026

CISA has added four new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation. CVE-2021-27137 DD-WRT Stack-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability CVE-2026-0770 Langflow Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere Vulnerability   CVE-2026-63030 WordPress Core Interpretation Conflict Vulnerability   CVE-2026-60137 WordPress Core SQL Injection Vulnerability These types of vulnerabilities are frequent attack vectors for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risks to the federal enterprise. Binding Operational Directive...

Recent mention · The Hacker News

WordPress wp2shell Exploitation Grows as Public Exploit Fuels Mass Scanning

The Hacker News · 21 Jul 2026

Attackers have begun to exploit two critical vulnerabilities in WordPress that, when combined together, enable unauthenticated remote code execution (RCE) and complete compromise of vulnerable websites. The two security flaws, tracked as CVE-2026-63030 and CVE-2026-60137, have been codenamed wp2shell. "By the early hours of Saturday morning (UTC), successful exploitation was already well

Recent mention · Dark Reading

'WP2Shell' Opens Millions of WordPress Sites to Remote Takeover

Dark Reading · 20 Jul 2026

Barely three days after disclosure, attackers are widely chaining together CVE-2026-60137 and CVE-2026-63030 to lob exploit attempts against one of the largest attack surfaces on the Internet.

Recent mention · Tenable Blog

wp2shell (CVE-2026-63030, CVE-2026-60137): Frequently asked questions about remote code execution chain in WordPress Core

Tenable Blog · 20 Jul 2026

An unauthenticated attacker can chain two WordPress Core vulnerabilities, CVE-2026-63030 and CVE-2026-60137, to achieve remote code execution against affected WordPress installations. Multiple security firms have confirmed active in-the-wild exploitation within days of public disclosure, and public proof-of-concept exploits are circulating.Key takeaways:Two WordPress Core vulnerabilities, CVE-2026-63030 and CVE-2026-60137, can be chained together to achieve pre-authentication remote code execution against WordPress 6.9.x and 7.0.x installations. Multiple security firms have confirmed...

Recent mention · Wordfence

PSA: WordPress Core Patched Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Chain

Wordfence · 17 Jul 2026

On July 17, 2026, the WordPress Security Team released updates to WordPress core addressing two security vulnerabilities. The first is an unauthenticated SQL injection vulnerability identified as CVE-2026-60137, while the second can be chained with the SQL injection to increase its impact to unauthenticated remote code execution and is identified as CVE-2026-63030. To protect WordPress ...Read More The post PSA: WordPress Core Patched Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Chain appeared first on Wordfence.

Recent mention · Rapid7

CVE-2026-63030: wp2shell a Critical Remote Code Execution Vulnerability in WordPress Core

Rapid7 · 17 Jul 2026

OverviewOn July 17, 2026, a GitHub Security Advisory was published for CVE-2026-63030, a critical unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability affecting WordPress Core. While the official GitHub security advisory classifies the severity as Critical, the vulnerability has currently been assigned a CVSS score of 7.5. WordPress is one of the most widely deployed content management systems, making vulnerabilities in its core software potentially significant for organizations operating public-facing websites. The vulnerability reportedly allows an unauthenticated attacker to execute code...

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

AbdullahMaqbool22/CVE-2026-60137-WordPress-Core-SQL-Injection-PoC

github · Created 2026-08-05 00:11:15 UTC · 0 stars · AI assessment 90%

Non-destructive proof-of-concept and verification harness for CVE-2026-60137, a blind SQL injection in WordPress core (`WP_Query::author__not_in`), reachable via the REST API's `author_exclude` parameter.

AdarshThakur14777-cyber/CVE-2026-60137

github · Created 2026-08-03 08:39:55 UTC · 0 stars · AI assessment 90%

wpsqli full SQLi extractor + dumper for CVE-2026-60137

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation

  1. 11:32 UTC

    KEV confirmed by The Hacker News

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  2. 08:39 UTC

    Public PoC available

    Public proof-of-concept code published

  3. 16:41 UTC

    KEV confirmed by BleepingComputer

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  4. 16:01 UTC

    KEV confirmed by CVE

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  5. 14:32 UTC

    Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  6. 12:00 UTC

    KEV confirmed by All CISA Advisories

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  7. 21:38 UTC

    KEV confirmed by Dark Reading

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  8. 13:36 UTC

    KEV confirmed by Tenable Blog

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  9. 15:32 UTC

    KEV confirmed by PatchStack

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  10. 22:23 UTC

    Added to Previdian KEV Feed

    High-confidence, third-party attested exploitation

  11. 19:14 UTC

    CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  12. 17:17 UTC

    CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2026-60137

Free JSON includes basic KEV fields 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2026-60137",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 5.9,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.05323,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}