CVE-2026-0814: WordPress Contact Form 7 DB Auth Bypass

CVE-2026-0814 Overview

The Advanced Contact Form 7 DB plugin for WordPress contains a missing authorization vulnerability (CWE-862) in the vsz_cf7_export_to_excel function. This security flaw allows authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access or above to export form submissions to Excel files without proper capability checks, potentially exposing sensitive user-submitted data.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers with minimal privileges (Subscriber-level) can access and export all Contact Form 7 submission data, potentially exposing sensitive personal information, business inquiries, and other confidential data collected through website forms.

Affected Products

• Advanced Contact Form 7 DB plugin for WordPress versions up to and including 2.0.9
• WordPress installations using the vulnerable plugin versions
• Sites collecting sensitive data through Contact Form 7 submissions

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-04-08 - CVE-2026-0814 published to NVD
• 2026-04-08 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-0814

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from a missing capability check (CWE-862: Missing Authorization) in the Advanced Contact Form 7 DB plugin's data export functionality. The vsz_cf7_export_to_excel function, located in the admin class file, fails to verify whether the requesting user has appropriate administrative permissions before processing export requests.

In WordPress's role-based access control system, Subscribers represent the lowest authenticated user tier with extremely limited capabilities. Under normal circumstances, Subscribers should only be able to manage their own profiles and cannot access administrative functions. However, the vulnerable function does not implement WordPress capability checks such as current_user_can(), allowing any authenticated user to invoke the export functionality.

The attack requires network access and authenticated access with at least Subscriber-level privileges. While the impact is limited to confidentiality (data disclosure) without integrity or availability consequences, the exposure of form submission data could include personally identifiable information, contact details, business communications, and other sensitive data that organizations collect through their WordPress forms.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the absence of proper authorization checks in the vsz_cf7_export_to_excel function within the plugin's admin class (class-advanced-cf7-db-admin.php). WordPress plugins handling sensitive administrative operations must implement capability checks to ensure only authorized users can perform privileged actions. The vulnerable code path allows the export function to execute without verifying the user's role or capabilities, violating the principle of least privilege.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires low-privilege authenticated access. An attacker must first obtain or create a WordPress account with at least Subscriber-level access on the target site. Once authenticated, the attacker can directly invoke the vsz_cf7_export_to_excel function to export all Contact Form 7 submissions stored in the database to an Excel file.

The vulnerability is particularly concerning for websites that:

• Allow open user registration with Subscriber role as default
• Have compromised low-privilege accounts
• Use Contact Form 7 to collect sensitive information such as customer inquiries, support requests, or business leads

The exported data could contain names, email addresses, phone numbers, and any other fields collected through the forms, making this a significant data exposure risk.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-0814

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected Excel file exports appearing in server logs or WordPress activity logs
• Subscriber or low-privilege user accounts accessing admin-only endpoints
• Unusual HTTP requests to the vsz_cf7_export_to_excel AJAX handler from non-administrative users
• Access logs showing export function calls from users who should not have export permissions

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress AJAX requests for calls to export functions by non-administrative users
• Implement logging for all data export operations within WordPress plugins
• Review user access patterns and flag unusual administrative function calls from low-privilege accounts
• Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and alert on suspicious export requests

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive audit logging for all WordPress user activities
• Configure alerts for any data export operations triggered by Subscriber-level accounts
• Regularly review WordPress user roles and remove unnecessary accounts
• Monitor outbound traffic for large data transfers that may indicate data exfiltration

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-0814

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Advanced Contact Form 7 DB plugin to the latest patched version immediately
• Audit all WordPress user accounts and remove or restrict unnecessary Subscriber accounts
• Review server logs for any evidence of exploitation or unauthorized data exports
• Consider temporarily disabling the plugin if an update cannot be applied immediately

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been addressed in a subsequent release of the Advanced Contact Form 7 DB plugin. The WordPress Plugin Changeset documents the security fix. Administrators should update to version 2.1.0 or later through the WordPress plugin update mechanism. The patch implements proper capability checks using WordPress's current_user_can() function to ensure only authorized administrators can export form data.

Additional technical details are available in the Wordfence Vulnerability Analysis and the WordPress Plugin Code Reference.

Workarounds

• Restrict user registration on the WordPress site to prevent unauthorized account creation
• Remove or limit Subscriber-level accounts that do not have a legitimate business need
• Implement additional access controls at the web server level to restrict admin AJAX endpoints
• Use a WordPress security plugin to add capability checks and monitor for unauthorized access attempts

# Configuration example
# Restrict access to admin-ajax.php export functions via .htaccess
# Add to WordPress root .htaccess file as temporary mitigation

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/wp-admin/admin-ajax\.php$
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} action=vsz_cf7_export_to_excel [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} !wordpress_logged_in.*administrator [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>