WP Database Backup <= 7.11 - Authenticated (Administrator+) OS Command Injection via 'wp_db_exclude_table' Parameter
The WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to OS Command Injection in all versions up to and including 7.11 via the wp_db_exclude_table parameter. This is due to the direct concatenation of user-supplied $_POST['wp_db_exclude_table'] values into the mysqldump shell command string in the mysqldump() function of includes/admin/class-wpdb-admin.php without wrapping them in escapeshellarg()—every other argument in the same command (DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, host, filename, DB_NAME) is properly escaped, making the exclude-table values the sole exception—and because the only applied filtering, sanitize_text_field() via recursive_sanitize_text_field(), strips HTML tags but leaves shell metacharacters such as ;, |, `, and $() intact. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with administrator-level access and above, to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the server, potentially enabling full remote code execution. The injection is stored: malicious values submitted through the plugin settings form are persisted to the WordPress options table via update_option('wp_db_exclude_table') and later retrieved with get_option() and passed unsanitized to shell_exec() whenever a backup operation runs.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress plugin | WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP | <= 7.11 | 7.12 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-77- Platform
- WordPress
- Package
WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP- Disclosed
- 01.07.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 10:22
Sources and licenses
Wordfence Intelligence - 0a97a217-b00b-4268-a472-8d62ae1d18e3 - Wordfence Intelligence
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Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc.
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Vulnerability history: WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP
All published vulnerabilities of this package (WordPress plugin), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 14
- First → latest
- 08.2015 07.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 2
- High 6
- Medium 6
Disclosures per year
- 2017: 0
- 2018: 0
- 2019: 3
- 2020: 1
- 2021: 0
- 2022: 2
- 2023: 0
- 2024: 0
- 2025: 1
- 2026: 1
earlier: 6
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WP Database Backup <= 7.11 - Authenticated (Administrator+) OS Command Injection via 'wp_db_exclude_table' Parameter this entry
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