CRITICAL
CVE-2018-20981
CWE-20Published: August 22, 2019· Updated: Jun 17, 2026
9.1
CVSS v3.1
Official Description
The ninja-forms plugin before 3.3.9 for WordPress has insufficient restrictions on submission-data retrieval during Export Personal Data requests.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2018-20981 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.
The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.
A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), with a CVSS base score of 9.1.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.None
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityNone
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Affected Vendors & Products
ninjaforms1 product(s)
ninja forms
Source: NVD CPE · 1 total CPE entries
Exploit & PoC Resources
NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
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Official Patches & Advisories
All References (2)
→
https://wordpress.org/plugins/ninja-forms/#developersRelease Notes · Third Party Advisory
→
https://wordpress.org/plugins/ninja-forms/#developersRelease Notes · Third Party Advisory
Quick Facts
CVE IDCVE-2018-20981
CVSS Score9.1 / 10
SeverityCRITICAL
WeaknessCWE-20
CISA KEVNo
Affected1 vendor(s)
PublishedAug 22, 2019
Related CVEs (CWE-20)
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2018-20981 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWatch. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.