critical severityConfidence highHistorical record

WordPress page template include hits CISA KEV

Direct answer

WordPress page template include hits CISA KEV, also tracked as CVE-2026-87902 / GHSA-7hp8-65ch-5whp / WordPress Core Remote File Inclusion Vulnerability is a critical-severity threat campaign HOL Guard tracked from Sep 22, 2026 to Sep 25, 2026, verified against 5 primary sources and last reviewed Sep 25, 2026. Active tracking has ended and the record remains published as a permanent historical research record.

CISA added CVE-2026-87902 to KEV on 2026-09-25 (due 2026-09-28, forensic triage Yes). WordPress Core unauthenticated path traversal in get_page_template() can include a chosen readable local .php outside active theme dirs (CWE-98). Conditional RCE when the theme has a page-* top-level directory and a readable target such as pearcmd.php with register_argc_argv On. Fixed in 7.1.2 with backports through 4.7.37. Patchstack reports probing hours after the patch and pearcmd write-to-disk attempts.

Also tracked as CVE-2026-87902 · GHSA-7hp8-65ch-5whp · WordPress Core Remote File Inclusion Vulnerability

First observed
Sep 22, 2026
Last observed
Sep 25, 2026
Last reviewed
Sep 25, 2026
Tracking ended
Sep 25, 2026

Record exports

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Uncertainty and limitations

Read the evidence limits before acting on this record.

Not every install is instantly RCE: needs theme page-* precondition plus a readable attacker-chosen .php. Known ransomware campaign use is Unknown. Exact in-the-wild payload variety beyond Patchstack's pearcmd stages is not fully enumerated here.

  • WordPress.com and hosts already on fixed builds are not the patch ticket.
  • Themes without a top-level page-* directory are outside the GHSA LFI-to-RCE precondition path; still upgrade core.
  • This is not unauthenticated RCE on every default install with zero preconditions.
  • Distinct from CVE-2026-93485 WordPress comment XSS / 7.1.1.

Guard coverage and policy

What Guard's reviewed assertions do and do not claim for this campaign, and the reviewed starting points for defense.

No Guard coverage mapping or campaign-specific policy guidance is published for this record.

Safe next step. Campaign guidance is defensive context. It does not auto-apply policy or claim universal campaign coverage.

Open policy controlsCampaign-specific emergency policy starting point

Timeline

Reviewed events, oldest first, each tied to a verified source.

  1. Disclosure

    WordPress published GHSA-7hp8-65ch-5whp / CVE-2026-87902 and released 7.1.2 with backports to 4.7.

    Sources:GHSA-7hp8-65ch-5whp WordPress Core·WordPress 7.1.2 release

  2. First observed

    Patchstack observed first probing activity; later update documents pearcmd.php include and write-to-disk stages.

    Source:Patchstack probing and pearcmd exploitation write-up

  3. Disclosure

    CISA added CVE-2026-87902 to KEV (dateAdded 2026-09-25, dueDate 2026-09-28, forensicTriage Yes).

    Source:CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  4. Update

    HOL Guard published operator blog coverage for the same-day WordPress Core KEV.

    Source:HOL Guard operator write-up

Publication clock: 78.8 hours from reviewed disclosure timestamp to HOL publication; 12-hour critical target; historical backfill outside target.

Reviewed artifacts

The specific artifacts this record concerns, as reviewed. Names and versions are shown as text; a registry link is not recorded here.

  • WordPress Core@>=4.7.0 <7.1.2 (branch patches apply)wordpresspackage

Sources

Every claim on this record is traceable to the sources below.

Campaign questions, answered

CISA added CVE-2026-87902 to KEV on 2026-09-25 (due 2026-09-28, forensic triage Yes). WordPress Core unauthenticated path traversal in get_page_template() can include a chosen readable local HOL Guard tracked the campaign from Sep 22, 2026 to Sep 25, 2026.

No. Active tracking ended Sep 25, 2026; this page remains as a labeled historical research record and does not imply the threat is currently active.

The record cites 5 primary sources, names 1 reviewed artifact, and was last fully reviewed Sep 25, 2026 by HOL Guard Security Publishing. Its uncertainty and limitations are stated on the record itself.

Campaign guidance is defensive context. It does not auto-apply policy or claim universal campaign coverage.

The permalink above is permanent. The full record can be downloaded from this page as JSON, an artifact CSV, and a STIX 2.1 bundle, and corrections can be requested through the published correction path on the record. Not every install is instantly RCE: needs theme page-* precondition plus a readable attacker-chosen .php. Known ransomware campaign use is Unknown.

Reviewed in full by HOL Guard Security Publishing.

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Record HGTC-2026-7A43EDF2