wp-plugin-automation

name	wp-plugin-automation
description	Scripts and workflows to batch-test popular WordPress plugin CVEs across hundreds of domains. Covers automated plugin detection, version extraction from readme.txt, CVE matching against a curated matrix of high-impact plugin vulnerabilities (ElementsKit, Revslider, WPDM, Gravity Forms, Contact Form 7, Jetpack, WP File Manager, GSpeech), and exploitation PoC generation. Use after initial WordPress detection recon — when you have a target list of WP domains and need to find which specific plugin CVEs are exploitable at scale.
version	1.1.0
revision_date	"2026-07-25T00:00:00.000Z"
license	MIT
category	redteam
tags	["wordpress","plugin","automation","redteam"]

WP-PLUGIN-AUTOMATION — Batch WordPress Plugin CVE Testing

When to Use

Use after initial WordPress detection recon (hunt-wordpress Phase 1). You have a list of confirmed WP domains and need to find which specific plugin CVEs are exploitable. This skill automates plugin detection, version extraction, CVE matching, and exploitation PoC generation at scale.

Quick Reference

# One-shot: detect all plugin versions on a target
cat targets.txt | while read t; do
  echo "=== $t ==="
  # Extract plugin readme versions
  for p in revslider elementskit elementor woocommerce gravityforms jetpack; do
    v=$(curl --max-time 30 --connect-timeout 10 -sk "https://$t/wp-content/plugins/$p/readme.txt" | grep -i "stable tag\|version" | head -1)
    [ -n "$v" ] && echo "PLUGIN: $p=$v"
  done
  # REST API namespace enumeration
  curl --max-time 30 --connect-timeout 10 -sk "https://$t/wp-json/" | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); [print('REST:',n) for n in d.get('namespaces',[])]" 2>/dev/null
done

Step-by-Step

Phase 1 — Automated Plugin Detection

#!/bin/bash
# wp-plugin-scan.sh - Scan target list for WP plugin versions
TARGETS="$1"
PLUGINS=(
  "revslider:slider-revolution"
  "elementskit:elementskit-lite"
  "elementor:elementor"
  "woocommerce:woocommerce"
  "gravityforms:gravityforms"
  "contact-form-7:contact-form-7"
  "jetpack:jetpack"
  "wp-file-manager:wp-file-manager"
  "wordpress-seo:wordpress-seo"
  "give:give"  # Donation plugin
  "wp-sermons:wp-sermons"
  "simple-bible-embed:simple-bible-embed"
)

while read t; do
  echo "=== Scanning $t ==="
  for plugin_entry in "${PLUGINS[@]}"; do
    IFS=':' read -r slug dir <<< "$plugin_entry"
    readme=$(curl --max-time 30 --connect-timeout 10 -sk -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "https://$t/wp-content/plugins/$dir/readme.txt")
    [ "$readme" != "404" ] && [ "$readme" != "000" ] && \
      version=$(curl --max-time 30 --connect-timeout 10 -sk "https://$t/wp-content/plugins/$dir/readme.txt" | grep -i "stable tag\|version" |  -1 | grep -Eo ) && \
       
  
 < 

Phase 2 — CVE Matching Matrix

#!/bin/bash
# cve-matcher.sh - Match plugin versions against known CVEs
# Usage: echo "revslider 6.6.19" | ./cve-matcher.sh

while read plugin version; do
  case "$plugin" in
    revslider)
      [ "$(printf '%s\n' '6.6.20' "$version" | sort -V | head -1)" != "$version" ] && \
        [ "$version" != "6.6.20" ] && echo "  [!] Revslider < 6.6.20 → CVE-2024-2534 RCE"
      [ "$(printf '%s\n' '6.5.8' "$version" | sort -V | head -1)" != "$version" ] && \
        [ "$version" != "6.5.8" ] && echo "  [!] Revslider < 6.5.8 → CVE-2022-2944 SQLi"
      ;;
    elementskit)
      [ "$(printf '%s\n' '2.9.4' "$version" | sort -V | head -1)" != "$version" ] && \
        [ "$version" != "2.9.4" ] && echo "  [!] ElementsKit < 2.9.4 → CVE-2023-6851 SQLi, CVE-2023-6853 File Upload"
      [ "$(printf '%s\n' '2.9.8' "$version" | sort -V | head -1)" != "$version" ] && \
        [  !=  ] &&  
      ;;
    gravityforms)
      [  !=  ] && \
        [  !=  ] &&  
      ;;
    jetpack)
      [  !=  ] && \
        [  !=  ] &&  
      ;;
    contact-form-7)
       
      ;;
    wp-file-manager)
       
      ;;
  

Phase 3 — Bulk CORS + XMLRPC + Debug Log Check

#!/bin/bash
# wp-bulk-vuln-check.sh - Multi-vuln sweep across all WP targets
TARGETS="$1"

while read t; do
  echo "=== $t ==="
  
  # CORS credential reflection
  cors=$(curl --max-time 30 --connect-timeout 10 -skI "https://$t/wp-json/wp/v2/users" -H "Origin: https://evil.com" 2>/dev/null | grep -c "Access-Control-Allow-Credentials: true")
  [ "$cors" -gt 0 ] && echo "  [CRIT] CORS credential reflection!"
  
  # XMLRPC
  xrpc=$(curl --max-time 30 --connect-timeout 10 -sk -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "https://$t/xmlrpc.php" 2>/dev/null)
  [ "$xrpc" = "200" ] && echo "  [HIGH] XMLRPC active"
  
  # Debug log
  dlog=$(curl --max-time 30 --connect-timeout 10 -sk -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "https://$t/wp-content/debug.log" 2>/dev/null)
  [ "$dlog" = "200" ] && echo "  [HIGH] Debug log exposed"
  
  # PHPInfo
  for p in /info.php /phpinfo.php /test.php; do
    code=$(curl --max-time 30 --connect-timeout 10 -sk -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "https://$t$p" 2>/dev/null)
    [ "$code" =  ] &&  
  
  
  
  reg=$(curl --max-time 30 --connect-timeout 10 -sk  2>/dev/null | grep -c )
  [  -gt 0 ] &&  
  
   
 < 

Phase 4 — Exploitation PoC Generation

# WooCommerce API discovery
for path in /wp-json/wc/v3/ /wp-json/wc/v3/products /wp-json/wc/v3/orders /wp-json/wc/v3/customers; do
  code=$(curl --max-time 30 --connect-timeout 10 -sk -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "https://$TARGET$path")
  [ "$code" != "404" ] && echo "[+] $path — HTTP $code"
done

# Application Passwords endpoint
code=$(curl --max-time 30 --connect-timeout 10 -sk -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "https://$TARGET/wp-admin/authorize-application.php")
[ "$code" != "404" ] && echo "[+] Application Passwords endpoint accessible"

# Check for REST API user enumeration
curl --max-time 30 --connect-timeout 10 -sk "https://$TARGET/wp-json/wp/v2/users?per_page=100" | jq '.[] | {id, name, slug}'

Attack Surface Signals

• Plugin readme.txt accessible at /wp-content/plugins/<slug>/readme.txt
• REST API namespace reflects enabled plugins via /wp-json/
• Plugin assets (CSS, JS, images) accessible at /wp-content/plugins/<slug>/assets/
• WooCommerce endpoints at /wp-json/wc/v3/

Common Root Causes

1. Plugin auto-update disabled — admin turns off auto-updates to avoid breaking customizations
2. Abandoned plugins — developer stops maintaining, no patches for CVEs
3. Nulled/premium plugins — pirated plugins with backdoors installed on budget sites
4. Plugin bloat — 50+ plugins installed, impossible to track CVEs manually

Real Examples

From 58-company mass recon:

• 7/58 targets had ElementsKit < 2.9.4 (SQLi + File Upload CVEs)
• 5/58 had Revslider installed (potential RCE via CVE-2024-2534)
• 5/7 deep targets had CORS credential reflection on WP REST API
• 2/7 had open registration + XMLRPC upload → full RCE chain

Verification

1. Plugin detection — confirm WPScan or manual detection:

   which wpscan 2>/dev/null && echo "PASS: wpscan installed" || echo "NOTE: wpscan not installed"
   

2. Version extraction — confirm readme.txt parsing:

   echo "Stable tag: 5.2.1" | grep -q "Stable tag" && echo "PASS: version tag recognized" || echo "FAIL"
   

All tests verify WP plugin automation readiness.

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Pitfalls

• Automated scanning without version validation — detecting a plugin slug doesn't tell you the version. Use readme.txt, style.css headers, or changelog to get the version.
• False positives from plugin detection — some themes/plugins detect by HTML comments that are false positives. Verify with at least 2 independent signals.
• Bulk scanning without rate limiting — scanning 1000 sites for plugin versions without delays triggers WAFs and IP bans.
• Unmaintained plugin without CVE — a plugin last updated in 2018 is a risk indicator, not a vulnerability. Need a CVE or demonstrated exploit.
• Premium plugin version guessing — premium plugins don't have public SVN repos. Version detection requires different techniques (changelog, readme checksums).

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Related Skills

• hunt-wordpress — primary skill for WordPress recon
• recon-sector — sector-specific recon (churches have highest plugin vulnerability rate)
• hunt-rce — plugin CVEs are a primary RCE path
• hunt-file-upload — file upload CVEs from plugin vulnerabilities
• hunt-sqli — SQL injection CVEs from plugin SQLi flaws
• hunt-source-leak — debug.log/reveals plugin version info