WordPress wp2shell PoC User-Agent HTTP Requests

Alerts on web requests with User-Agent exactly equal to "wp2shell", matching wp2shell PoC behavior.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v5

Category: webserver
Author: Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published: 2026-07-19
Updated: 2026-07-31

ATT&CK techniques

Initial Access

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
- T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule identifies webserver HTTP requests where the User-Agent header is hardcoded to "wp2shell", matching activity from the wp2shell proof-of-concept tool. Attackers use this PoC during exploitation attempts against vulnerable WordPress targets, so the distinctive User-Agent can provide a strong indicator of malicious probing or exploitation workflow. It relies on webserver access logging that captures the HTTP request User-Agent field.

Reporting behind it

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WordPress wp2shell PoC User-Agent HTTP Requests

Pivot detection · T1190 · 9 related

Changelog

v5
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v4
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v3
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v2
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v1
No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.

webserver-user-agent-wp2shell-indicates-wp2shell-poc-activity-a7c4e2f9

title: WordPress wp2shell PoC User-Agent HTTP Requests
id: 9a6d45a4-1721-4f0c-8006-260eda807644
status: experimental
description: This rule identifies webserver HTTP requests where the User-Agent header is hardcoded to "wp2shell", matching activity from the wp2shell proof-of-concept tool. Attackers use this PoC during exploitation attempts against vulnerable WordPress targets, so the distinctive User-Agent can provide a strong indicator of malicious probing or exploitation workflow. It relies on webserver access logging that captures the HTTP request User-Agent field.
references:
  - https://github.com/Icex0/wp2shell-poc
  - https://slcyber.io/research-center/wp2shell-pre-authentication-rce-in-wordpress-core/
  - https://wordpress.org/news/2026/07/wordpress-7-0-2-release/
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules-emerging-threats/2026/Exploits/CVE-2026-63030/web_exploit_cve_2026_63030_wp2shell_tool_useragent.yml
author: Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems), Huntrule Team
date: 2026-07-19
tags:
  - attack.initial-access
  - attack.t1190
  - cve.2026-63030
  - cve.2026-60137
  - detection.emerging-threats
logsource:
  category: webserver
detection:
  selection:
    cs-user-agent: wp2shell
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Unlikely
level: high
license: DRL-1.1
related:
  - id: a7c4e2f9-1b38-4d5c-9e72-3f4a5b6c7d8e
    type: derived

Convert

This rule as a query you can run. Uses no unlock credit.

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