CVE-2026-16144 (GCVE-0-2026-16144)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-08-01 07:49 – Updated: 2026-08-01 07:49
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Title
Kali Forms <= 2.4.20 - Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution via 'thisPermalink' Field Parameter
Summary
The Kali Forms — Contact Form & Drag-and-Drop Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.20 via the _save_data function. This is due to insufficient validation of the 'thisPermalink' field value before it overwrites a trusted callable placeholder, allowing attacker-controlled strings to reach call_user_func() in _save_data(). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute code on the server. Exploitation requires the target form to define a field with a name matching one of the reserved placeholder keys ('thisPermalink', 'entryCounter', or 'submission_link'), as check_if_placeholders_changed() only processes POST keys present in the form's field_type_map.
Severity
8.1 (High)
CWE
- CWE-94 - Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Assigner
References
12 references
Impacted products
1 product
| Vendor | Product | Version | |
|---|---|---|---|
| wpchill | Kali Forms — Contact Form & Drag-and-Drop Builder |
Affected:
0 , ≤ 2.4.20
(semver)
|
Credits
{
"containers": {
"cna": {
"affected": [
{
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"product": "Kali Forms \u2014 Contact Form \u0026 Drag-and-Drop Builder",
"vendor": "wpchill",
"versions": [
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "2.4.20",
"status": "affected",
"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver"
}
]
}
],
"credits": [
{
"lang": "en",
"type": "finder",
"value": "Wordfence PRISM"
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "The Kali Forms \u2014 Contact Form \u0026 Drag-and-Drop Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.20 via the _save_data function. This is due to insufficient validation of the \u0027thisPermalink\u0027 field value before it overwrites a trusted callable placeholder, allowing attacker-controlled strings to reach call_user_func() in _save_data(). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute code on the server. Exploitation requires the target form to define a field with a name matching one of the reserved placeholder keys (\u0027thisPermalink\u0027, \u0027entryCounter\u0027, or \u0027submission_link\u0027), as check_if_placeholders_changed() only processes POST keys present in the form\u0027s field_type_map."
}
],
"metrics": [
{
"cvssV3_1": {
"baseScore": 8.1,
"baseSeverity": "HIGH",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"version": "3.1"
}
}
],
"problemTypes": [
{
"descriptions": [
{
"cweId": "CWE-94",
"description": "CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code (\u0027Code Injection\u0027)",
"lang": "en",
"type": "CWE"
}
]
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-08-01T07:49:50.355Z",
"orgId": "b15e7b5b-3da4-40ae-a43c-f7aa60e62599",
"shortName": "Wordfence"
},
"references": [
{
"url": "https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/9d692aff-8bb2-45bb-9caf-bc33d3ed5b10?source=cve"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.20/Inc/Frontend/class-form-processor.php#L1033"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.20/Inc/Frontend/class-form-processor.php#L172"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.20/Inc/Frontend/class-form-processor.php#L277"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.20/Inc/Frontend/class-form-processor.php#L976"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.20/Inc/Frontend/class-form-processor.php#L90"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.19/Inc/Frontend/class-form-processor.php#L1033"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.19/Inc/Frontend/class-form-processor.php#L172"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.19/Inc/Frontend/class-form-processor.php#L277"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.19/Inc/Frontend/class-form-processor.php#L976"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/kali-forms/tags/2.4.19/Inc/Frontend/class-form-processor.php#L90"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=\u0026old=3623024%40kali-forms\u0026new=3623024%40kali-forms"
}
],
"timeline": [
{
"lang": "en",
"time": "2026-07-17T18:00:17.000Z",
"value": "Vendor Notified"
},
{
"lang": "en",
"time": "2026-07-31T19:40:39.000Z",
"value": "Disclosed"
}
],
"title": "Kali Forms \u003c= 2.4.20 - Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution via \u0027thisPermalink\u0027 Field Parameter"
}
},
"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "b15e7b5b-3da4-40ae-a43c-f7aa60e62599",
"assignerShortName": "Wordfence",
"cveId": "CVE-2026-16144",
"datePublished": "2026-08-01T07:49:50.355Z",
"dateReserved": "2026-07-17T17:45:06.586Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-08-01T07:49:50.355Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2",
"vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
"epss": {
"cve": "CVE-2026-16144",
"date": "2026-08-03",
"epss": "0.00688",
"percentile": "0.49173"
}
}
}
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Experimental. This forecast is provided for visualization only and may change without notice. Do not use it for operational decisions.
Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
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