wp2shell-poc

Proof-of-concept for an unauthenticated SQL injection in WordPress core that chains to remote code execution, via REST batch route confusion (CVE-2026-63030).

The exploit needs no credentials and no configuration beyond a reachable target. It reaches the injection through a single endpoint: POST /wp-json/batch/v1.

The finding itself is that unauthenticated SQL injection — check confirms it and read demonstrates arbitrary database read. The shell command is optional post-exploitation (recovered admin credentials → plugin upload → command execution), included to demonstrate full impact; it is not the vulnerability.

Affected versions

Branch	Affected	Fixed in
6.9.x	6.9.0 – 6.9.4	6.9.5
7.0.x	7.0.0 – 7.0.1	7.0.2

Versions before 6.9.0 are not affected by this chain.

How it works

The REST batch endpoint (/batch/v1) is unauthenticated and runs several sub-requests in one call, relying on each sub-request being validated and permission-checked on its own.

serve_batch_request_v1() builds two parallel arrays — $matches (the matched handler per sub-request) and $validation (the validation result per sub-request) — then indexes both by the same offset when dispatching. A sub-request whose path fails wp_parse_url() is appended to $validation but not to $matches, so the arrays fall out of step and a sub-request is dispatched under a different sub-request's handler. That is the route confusion.

The PoC nests the primitive twice:

1. A POST /wp/v2/posts request that carries a requests body is dispatched under the batch handler itself. Having been validated as a posts request, its requests list is never checked against the batch schema, so its sub-requests may use GET — the method allow-list is bypassed.
2. Inside that inner batch, a GET /wp/v2/users request carrying an author_exclude string (the users schema has no such parameter, so the value passes validation untouched) is dispatched under posts get_items(). There author_exclude maps to the WP_Query author__not_in query var, which the vulnerable build interpolates into SQL as a string.

The result is a boolean- and time-based blind SQL injection reachable pre-authentication. With database read access the administrator password hash can be recovered; once cracked, admin access yields code execution through a plugin upload.

Requirements

Python 3.8+ and the standard library. No third-party dependencies.

Usage

Run it from the repository directory:

./wp2shell.py <command> <url> [options]

Or pip install . to get a wp2shell command on your PATH.

check — confirm the vulnerability (safe)

Confirms exploitability with a differential time delay. It reads no data and changes nothing.

./wp2shell.py check http://target

read — extract data (blind SQL injection)

./wp2shell.py read http://target                      # server fingerprint
./wp2shell.py read http://target --preset users       # user logins and password hashes
./wp2shell.py read http://target --query "SELECT @@version"

shell — execute a command (remote code execution)

Optional post-exploitation. Requires valid administrator credentials; the injection recovers the password hash, so supply the recovered plaintext here.

./wp2shell.py shell http://target --user admin --password '<recovered>' --cmd id
./wp2shell.py shell http://target --user admin --password '<recovered>' -i   # interactive shell

shell uploads a plugin webshell (locked behind a random path and a per-run token) and prints its path. Remove it when finished.

Options

Option	Applies to	Description
--rest-route	all	Use /?rest_route=/batch/v1 (for sites without pretty permalinks).
--proxy URL	all	Route traffic through an HTTP proxy (for example, Burp).
--timeout N	all	Request timeout in seconds.
--sleep N	check	Delay used to confirm the injection.
--preset	read	fingerprint or users.
--query	read	A scalar SQL expression to read.
--prefix	read	Database table prefix (default wp_).
--max-length N	read	Maximum characters read per value (default 128).
--user / --password	shell	Admin credentials (plaintext, recovered from the hash).
--cmd	shell	Command to run (omit when using -i).
-i / --interactive	shell	Open an interactive shell after deploying.

Remediation

Update to WordPress 6.9.5 or 7.0.2. Until then, block both /wp-json/batch/v1 and the rest_route=/batch/v1 query parameter at the edge, or require authentication for the batch endpoint via the rest_pre_dispatch filter.

Legal

For authorized security testing only. Use it exclusively against systems you own or have explicit written permission to test. The author accepts no liability for misuse.

References

• WordPress 7.0.2 release announcement — https://wordpress.org/news/2026/07/wordpress-7-0-2-release/
• CVE-2026-63030