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CVE-2026-16258

CRITICAL 9.8 PoC AVAILABLE

Published 2026-08-07 · Last modified 2026-08-07

The Ajax Search Lite WordPress plugin before 4.14.5 does not prevent the deserialization of untrusted input, allowing unauthenticated attackers to perform PHP Object Injection. When a suitable POP chain is present via another installed Ajax Search Lite WordPress plugin before 4.14.5 or , this can be leveraged to achieve Remote Code Execution.

EXPLOIT AVAILABLE

Public exploit or PoC code exists. Modeled probability is still low, but the barrier to attack is reduced — watch closely.

Exploitation likelihood

0.5%chance of exploitation in 30 days · 39th percentile

○ In CISA KEV ● Public exploit / PoC

Impact if exploited

9.8CVSS 3.1 · CRITICAL

  • ConfidentialityHigh
  • IntegrityHigh
  • AvailabilityHigh

What an attacker needs

  • ✓Access: Reachable over the network — no local access needed
  • ✓Privileges: No account or privileges required
  • ✓User interaction: No user interaction needed
  • ✓Complexity: No special conditions — reliably repeatable

✓ lowers the bar for an attacker · ⚠ raises it

Proof of concept & exploit code

Test against your own equipment

curl -s https://vulnpedia.com/cve/CVE-2026-16258/poc.jsonMachine-readable PoC index for this CVE (for automation).

Listed for defensive triage, patch verification, and authorized testing on systems you own. Machine-readable: /cve/CVE-2026-16258/poc.json

Affected

Vendors Unknown

Products Ajax Search Lite

Weakness (CWE)

  • CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data

CVSS vector

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

All CVSS metrics

  • CRITICAL 9.8 v3.1 · ADP Primary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
  • CRITICAL 9.8 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

Exploits & PoC

Sources: NVD · CVE.org · EPSS