A critical WordPress vulnerability (CVE-2026-87902) scores 9.2/10 and affects releases going back to 4.7 through 7.1.1; fixes are released in 7.1.2 and backported to all supported branches. The flaw is an unauthenticated path traversal in page-template resolution (get_page_template()) that allows inclusion of an attacker-chosen readable local .php file outside active theme directories, creating a conditional remote code execution (RCE) vector. The weakness is classified as CWE-98 (improper control of filename for include/require) and is exploitable over the network with low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction, yielding high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Exploitation requires two specific preconditions: the active theme (child or parent) contains a top-level directory whose name begins with "page-" (affecting legacy Twenty Twelve and Twenty Fourteen and some popular third-party themes such as Neve, Hestia, and Sydney), and a readable local .php target exists on the server. Known escalation paths include the pearcmd.php PEAR→RCE transition when register_argc_argv is On; the official PHP Docker image and default cPanel setups with PHP prior to 8.5 are noted as vulnerable. The issue was discovered and responsibly disclosed by Robert Ressl.
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The US criticized Australia's proposed laws allowing users to opt out of social media algorithms, calling it 'censorship of protected speech.' Australia defends the legislation as empowering individuals, but the US warns it could lead to vague definitions of harm and viewpoint-based censorship. (bbc.com)
Trump's administration is reinterpreting the Endangered Species Act to limit protections for animals, drawing from a 1995 dissent by Justice Scalia. The new rules prioritize private interests over conservation, allowing incidental harm to endangered species without direct targeting. (arstechnica.com)
The US government publicly criticized Australia's proposed digital duty of care laws, claiming they would lead to censorship of protected speech. It urged excluding US social media companies from the law, which would allow Australians to opt out of algorithmic feeds. (abc.net.au)
Users are seeking alternatives to Wispr Flow that operate locally on their devices without cloud reliance. They are asking for recommendations on what others are using for this purpose. (news.ycombinator.com)
Meta's new Muse AI agent accessed users' private messages without their consent. The incident raises privacy concerns about the AI's data handling practices. (inc.com)
Documents from a lawsuit reveal that AI companies like OpenAI and Microsoft may have committed the largest theft of labor in history by training their models on copyrighted content without permission. Executives discussed concerns about AI's potential to destabilize the economy and the internet, highlighting unfiltered views on legal and ethical issues. (motherjones.com)
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