CVE-2026-111862

9.8Critical

Published 19 Oct 2026 · NVD status: Received · AI triage by gemini-3.8-flash

9.8Critical

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: Low
Privileges needed: None
User interaction: None
Impact: Full C/I/A compromise
Weakness: CWE-506

Impact

Remote attackers gain persistent backdoor access and steal site secrets, database credentials, and API keys. This requires an admin to have activated a tainted plugin build downloaded during an 11-hour compromise window.

Root cause

A supply-chain attack injected malicious PHP backdoor code and persistence mechanisms into distributed plugin distribution archives.

Affected systems

Rank Math SEO PRO version 3.0.123 downloaded or updated between October 15, 2026 at 20:02 UTC and October 16, 2026 at 07:12 UTC.

CVSS v3.1 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Fix & remediation

Upgrade to Rank Math SEO PRO 3.0.124 immediately. If an affected 3.0.123 build was activated, treat the host as compromised: rotate database credentials and API keys, audit admin users, and scan for rogue cron jobs and PHP backdoor files.

shell

$ wp plugin update seo-by-rank-math-pro --version=3.0.124

AI-suggested. Run it in staging first and check it against the vendor advisory. Why?

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NVD description

Rank Math SEO PRO for WordPress is affected by a supply-chain compromise in a subset of version 3.0.123 packages downloaded or updated between October 15, 2026 at 20:02 UTC and October 16, 2026 at 07:12 UTC. Rank Math states that the affected plugin files contained malware that could compromise a website if the plugin was activated and directs sites that activated an affected package to treat the website as compromised. The malware may establish persistent access, communicate with rank1cdn[.]com, recreate hidden backdoors on page visits, and expose WordPress credentials, database credentials, API keys, and other secrets accessible to the web server. Rank Math identifies three malicious wp_options keys, hidden PHP backdoors, unauthorized administrator accounts, a fake WordPress core file, PHP-executable .cache files, and a system cron marker as incident indicators. Only packages obtained during the vendor-confirmed window are claimed as affected; version 3.0.123 alone is not sufficient to establish compromise. Rank Math removed the affected files and released version 3.0.124 as the clean replacement.

References

Source: nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-111862