CVE-2026-81285 HIGH

CVE-2026-81285: WordPress Smush Image Compression and Optimization plugin <= 4.2.0 - Denial of Service Attack vulnerability

Vendor Wpmu Dev
Product Smush Image Compression and Optimization
Weakness CWE-770 · Uncontrolled resource consumption
Published August 28, 2026
Last update August 28, 2026
View on NVD All CVEs

CVSS base score

7.5/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required None
User interaction None
Confidentiality None
Integrity None

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

What the vulnerability does

01Description

Unauthenticated Denial of Service Attack in Smush Image Compression and Optimization <= 4.2.0 versions.

Explanation of Vulnerability in Simple Terms

02Summary

Smush Image Compression and Optimization through version 4.2.0 does not limit or throttle resource allocation during image processing. An unauthenticated attacker can send repeated requests to exhaust server memory or CPU, causing the site to become slow or unresponsive. No user interaction is required.

What an attacker can do

03Attacker Capabilities

Make the site slow or unavailable by sending many image processing requests.

Potential impact on your site

04Site Impact

Your site may become unresponsive or crash due to resource exhaustion from image processing requests.

Conditions required to exploit

05Prerequisites

Network access to the site; no authentication or user interaction required.

Key dates

06Disclosure timeline

August 28, 2026 CVE published
August 28, 2026 Record updated