I Found a $500k WordPress RCE Using GPT5.6 for Just $25
Exploit brokers pay $500k for WordPress RCEs. I found one with GPT5.6 and $25
I discovered a critical pre-authentication remote code execution vulnerability in WordPress using the new GPT5.6 Sol Ultra model for only $25. By adapting a mathematical prompt to run multi-agent security research, the AI identified a SQL injection flaw and chained it to full system access. While exploit brokers pay half a million dollars for such bugs, my automated discovery process cost a fraction of that, highlighting the transformative potential of AI in cybersecurity.
I hadn't seen anyone in the security community talk about it at all, but I thought that if this prompt was good enough to solve hard mathematical problems, it was probably good enough for security research too.
- Zsfe510asG
There is no evidence that $500k has been paid or would be paid for an exploit like this one.
Given that the article says that prompts are modified like they are holy scripture, perhaps sell the prompt for $500k.
The author works for https://www.assetnote.io/ , which has AI products for automated scanning.
- progbits
https://github.com/WordPress/WordPress/commit/3a640e1c5e39aa...
String concatenation SQL injection in the year 2026.
- hmokiguess
I am so done with FOMO writing. Sure man, you found one with $25. With $25 plus your entire industry domain specific knowledge of where to look, of how to probe, of what else you may have accumulated and collected over the years of working within this industry. Let's stop with the gambling narrative and the illusion that we are all missing out.
- ahartmetz
The surprising (and possibly untrue) thing is the high price of canned vulnerabilities. WordPress is known as the remote root shell with a blogging feature.
- raesene9
Interesting write-up and I do think LLM assisted/powered exploit disclosure is a real concern (I've been able to get models to create container breakouts from Linux LPEs relatively quickly).
One thing I'm surprised about is that GPT-5.6 didn't block that prompt due to guardrails. My experience is that GPT-5.5 and up does not like offensive security work (similar to Opus 4.7+/Fable).
I didn't notice it but I'd assume that the authors have some level of cyber approvals from OpenAI to relax the guardrails a bit.
- lillesvin
I feel like I've seen plenty of non-AI, pre-2020 SAST tools catch SQLis like the one mentioned here, and if nothing else, then a code review ought to catch it. Is WordPress not using code reviews and/or SAST?
- lexicality
The author lost me at the last bit where they started using weird names for the posts. Why would you make one ID O and the other ID 0? Why single letters and not EMBED_01? Why seemingly random letters instead of ABCDEF? Does OCPDST stand for something?
- secretslol
One of my websites was hacked with this, luckily not one with any users at all.
They did this:
- Two admin accounts in the database.
- plugin dir: wp-content/plugins/wp-core with remote command-execution web shell wp-core-[12 random chars].php
- firewall.php backdoor in mu-plugins dir with admin on GET ?sergei
- cache-seo-helper.php backdoor
- fixer.php which renames the wordpress version number to one which is patched.
I have decided to give up on Wordpress.