FKIE_CVE-2026-16149

Vulnerability from fkie_nvd - Published: 2026-08-23 00:16 - Updated: 2026-08-23 00:16
Severity
8.8 (High) - CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Summary
The Security Hardener plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Missing Authorization in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.4. The vulnerability exists because the plugin's user-enumeration protection, which is enabled by default, hooks the rest_endpoints filter via secure_user_endpoints() and overwrites every registered handler's permission_callback on both the /wp/v2/users and /wp/v2/users/(?P<id>[\d]+) routes — including POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE handlers — with a bare closure that returns only is_user_logged_in(), completely stripping WordPress Core's original capability checks such as create_users, promote_user, edit_users, and delete_users that WP_REST_Users_Controller normally enforces. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access and above to create new Administrator accounts by sending POST request to /wp/v2/users with administrator role, or to reset an existing Administrator's password by issuing a PUT/POST request to /wp/v2/users/<id>. Because the block_user_enum option defaults to enabled, no special plugin configuration is required — the overwrite is active on every request as soon as the plugin is installed.
References
security@wordfence.comhttps://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L107
security@wordfence.comhttps://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L180
security@wordfence.comhttps://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L204
security@wordfence.comhttps://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L428
security@wordfence.comhttps://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L433
security@wordfence.comhttps://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L439
security@wordfence.comhttps://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3630896/security-hardener
security@wordfence.comhttps://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/64f1a71f-e210-4191-bfb4-56f8568180ed?source=cve
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Security Hardener",
          "vendor": "marc4",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "2.4.4",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "source": "security@wordfence.com"
    }
  ],
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "The Security Hardener plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Missing Authorization in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.4. The vulnerability exists because the plugin\u0027s user-enumeration protection, which is enabled by default, hooks the rest_endpoints filter via secure_user_endpoints() and overwrites every registered handler\u0027s permission_callback on both the /wp/v2/users and /wp/v2/users/(?P\u003cid\u003e[\\d]+) routes \u2014 including POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE handlers \u2014 with a bare closure that returns only is_user_logged_in(), completely stripping WordPress Core\u0027s original capability checks such as create_users, promote_user, edit_users, and delete_users that WP_REST_Users_Controller normally enforces. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access and above to create new Administrator accounts by sending POST request to /wp/v2/users with administrator role, or to reset an existing Administrator\u0027s password by issuing a PUT/POST request to /wp/v2/users/\u003cid\u003e. Because the block_user_enum option defaults to enabled, no special plugin configuration is required \u2014 the overwrite is active on every request as soon as the plugin is installed."
    }
  ],
  "id": "CVE-2026-16149",
  "lastModified": "2026-08-23T00:16:50.233",
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV31": [
      {
        "cvssData": {
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
          "baseScore": 8.8,
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
          "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
          "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
          "version": "3.1"
        },
        "exploitabilityScore": 2.8,
        "impactScore": 5.9,
        "source": "security@wordfence.com",
        "type": "Primary"
      }
    ]
  },
  "published": "2026-08-23T00:16:50.233",
  "references": [
    {
      "source": "security@wordfence.com",
      "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L107"
    },
    {
      "source": "security@wordfence.com",
      "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L180"
    },
    {
      "source": "security@wordfence.com",
      "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L204"
    },
    {
      "source": "security@wordfence.com",
      "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L428"
    },
    {
      "source": "security@wordfence.com",
      "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L433"
    },
    {
      "source": "security@wordfence.com",
      "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L439"
    },
    {
      "source": "security@wordfence.com",
      "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3630896/security-hardener"
    },
    {
      "source": "security@wordfence.com",
      "url": "https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/64f1a71f-e210-4191-bfb4-56f8568180ed?source=cve"
    }
  ],
  "sourceIdentifier": "security@wordfence.com",
  "vulnStatus": "Received",
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-269"
        }
      ],
      "source": "security@wordfence.com",
      "type": "Primary"
    }
  ]
}



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