Elementor Pro WordPress Plugin Vulnerability Exploited to Hack Sites
Attackers are actively exploiting critical file-upload flaw CVE-2026-32475 in Elementor Pro, hacking WordPress sites; Defiant has blocked over 190,000 exploit attempts since patching.
Defiant warns that attackers are exploiting CVE-2026-32475 (CVSS 9.8), an unauthenticated arbitrary file upload flaw in the Elementor Pro WordPress plugin's form submission handling, which affects all versions up to 4.2.1 and was patched in version 4.2.2 on August 19. Exploitation began immediately after the fix shipped, with Defiant blocking over 190,000 exploit attempts to date; roughly two-thirds of Elementor's 10 million installations still ran a vulnerable version as of September 4. Successful exploitation writes attacker-controlled PHP files to /wp-content/uploads/elementor/forms/ and can lead to full site compromise; administrators should check that directory for PHP files and review requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php.
Hackers target WordPress sites via third-party WooCommerce plugin
Attackers exploit unauthenticated file-upload flaw CVE-2026-27540 in WooCommerce Wholesale Lead Capture plugin to install PHP webshells; Wordfence blocked 100,000+ attacks.
CVE-2026-27540 is an unauthenticated arbitrary file-upload vulnerability in the WooCommerce Wholesale Lead Capture premium plugin (versions 2.0.3.1 and older), caused by the exposed wwlc_file_upload_handler AJAX action trusting a user-controlled file_settings allowlist. Discovered by researcher Teemu Saarentaus, it was fixed in version 2.0.3.2 released February 20. Defiant reports Wordfence blocked over 100,000 attacks, with exploitation spikes between June 4-17, July 1, and August 30, delivering shell.php webshells for reconnaissance and additional payload uploads.
Italian tech collective Autistici/Inventati shuts down after US terrorist designation
Italian privacy collective Autistici/Inventati shut down after a US State Department terrorist designation triggered its domain suspension and bank account closure.
The volunteer-run Italian collective Autistici/Inventati, founded in 2001, announced Sunday it would shut down after the State Department labeled it an extremist group on August 26, 2026. The designation led the Public Interest Registry to suspend the group's .org domain on August 28 and its bank, Banca Etica, to suspend its account. The collective hosted roughly 16,000 email addresses, 1,500 websites, 5,500 mailing lists, and about 10,000 blogs, including the Noblogs platform. European Digital Rights warned the move sets a dangerous precedent for non-commercial European hosts and digital sovereignty.
A California county wants to hire Tina Peters to help run its elections
Shasta County, California plans to hire Tina Peters, convicted of stealing voting system software, as assistant registrar of voters.
Shasta County registrar of voters Clint Curtis said he plans to hire former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters as assistant registrar after Colorado Governor Jared Polis commuted her nine-year sentence for seven felonies, including identity theft, breaking into an election office, and stealing voting system software. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff asked California Secretary of State Shirley Weber to provide maximum oversight to prevent Peters from improperly accessing ballots, voting systems, or data of over 100,000 registered voters. The county board of supervisors recently censured Curtis after investigations found he was verbally abusive or physically threatening toward staff.