CVE-2020-35489

CRITICALNVD 10.010.0—
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

This critical-severity CVE scores 10.0 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 89.6%, top 0% of all CVEs by exploit prediction. GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).

Triggered by: NVD CVSS baseline
Sources: epss, nvd
Elevated
10.0
EchelonGraph verdictPatch this weekExploitation is likely or a public exploit exists.
  • High exploitation likelihood — EPSS 90%
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS: 90%CVSS: 10.0Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

The contact-form-7 (aka Contact Form 7) plugin before 5.3.2 for WordPress allows Unrestricted File Upload and remote code execution because a filename may contain special characters.

CVSS v3
10.0
EG Score
10.0(medium)
EG Risk
85(Track*)
EG Risk 85/100SSVC: Track*

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity100% × 45%
Exploitation90% × 40%
Automatability30% × 15%
Action: Watch closely — could escalate to Attend.
EPSS
99.8%
KEV
Not listed

Published

December 17, 2020

Last Modified

November 21, 2024

Advisory Details (4)

Auto-updated Jul 18, 2026
⚠️ Active exploitation confirmed. No patch confirmed yet.
generic🔴 Active Exploitation

Unrestricted File Upload Vulnerability found in Contact Form 7

https://www.jinsonvarghese.com/unrestricted-file-upload-in-contact-form-7/
generic

Astra Security Blog - Guides & Tactical Insights on Pentesting and InfoSec for CXOs -

https://www.getastra.com/blog/911/plugin-exploit/contact-form-7-unrestricted-file-upload/
generic

Contact Form 7 – WordPress plugin | WordPress.org

https://wordpress.org/plugins/contact-form-7/#developers
generic

Contact Form 7 5.3.2 | Contact Form 7

https://contactform7.com/2020/12/17/contact-form-7-532/

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 7× in last 7d / 19× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-07-23 01:53 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-07-22 22:39 UTCEG score recompute
  3. 2026-07-22 14:05 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-07-20 17:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-07-20 17:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-19 02:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-07-19 02:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-07-15 16:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-07-15 16:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-07-12 21:38 UTCOSV refresh
  11. 2026-07-06 16:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-07-06 16:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-07-06 02:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-07-06 02:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-06-29 14:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-06-27 03:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-06-27 03:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-06-25 13:48 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-24 07:29 UTCOSV refresh
  20. 2026-06-23 21:31 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-06-23 21:31 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-06-16 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-15 17:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-14 23:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-13 22:58 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 16 more
  1. 2026-06-12 23:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-06-10 22:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-06-10 13:20 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-06-08 14:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-06-07 15:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-06-07 15:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-06-07 15:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-06-07 10:59 UTCOSV refresh
  9. 2026-06-05 22:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-06-05 22:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-06-01 13:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-05-29 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-05-28 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-05-28 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-05-23 03:57 UTCEG score recompute
  16. 2026-05-23 03:57 UTCGHSA enrichment

Publicly available exploits

(4 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (4 GitHub PoCs). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • GitHub PoCCappricio-Securities/CVE-2020-35489
    First seen May 19, 2024

    WordPress Contact Form 7 - Unrestricted File Upload

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCreneoliveirajr/wp_CVE-2020-35489_checker
    First seen May 31, 2023

    WordPress Sites Vulnerability Checker for CVE-2020-35489 - "Educational Use Only"

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCX0UCYB3R/Check-WP-CVE-2020-35489
    First seen Apr 22, 2021
    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCdn9uy3n/Check-WP-CVE-2020-35489
    First seen Dec 24, 2020

    The (WordPress) website test script can be exploited for Unlimited File Upload via CVE-2020-35489

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2020-35489?
CVE-2020-35489 is a critical vulnerability published on December 17, 2020. The contact-form-7 (aka Contact Form 7) plugin before 5.3.2 for WordPress allows Unrestricted File Upload and remote code execution because a filename may contain special characters.
When was CVE-2020-35489 disclosed?
CVE-2020-35489 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on December 17, 2020, with the most recent update on November 21, 2024. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2020-35489 actively exploited?
CVE-2020-35489 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 99.8% percentile likelihood of exploitation in the next 30 days — higher percentiles indicate greater predicted risk.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-35489?
CVE-2020-35489 has a CVSS v3 base score of 10.0 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2020-35489?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2020-35489, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

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