CVE-2026-14823 Overview
CVE-2026-14823 is a broken access control vulnerability in the Event Tickets and Registration WordPress plugin before version 5.29.0.1. The plugin fails to properly verify authorization on several seating-related actions. Contributor-level users can overwrite the seating layout, ticket inventory, and attendee seat assignments for events they do not own. The flaw is classified as Insecure Direct Object Reference [CWE-639]. Exploitation requires authenticated access at the contributor role or higher, which limits real-world impact.
Critical Impact
Authenticated contributors can tamper with other users' event seating configurations, ticket inventories, and attendee seat assignments, disrupting event integrity.
Affected Products
- Event Tickets and Registration WordPress plugin versions prior to 5.29.0.1
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-08-01 - CVE-2026-14823 published to NVD
- 2026-08-05 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2026-14823
Vulnerability Analysis
The Event Tickets and Registration plugin exposes several seating actions through its WordPress backend. These actions accept object identifiers referencing seating layouts, ticket inventories, and attendee seat records. The plugin verifies that the requesting user holds contributor-level capabilities but fails to validate ownership of the referenced event. As a result, any authenticated contributor can submit requests targeting events owned by other users. The plugin then executes the write operation against the specified event without additional checks.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing object-level authorization on seating action handlers, an Insecure Direct Object Reference pattern [CWE-639]. The handlers rely on role capability checks rather than confirming that the current user owns or has been granted access to the target event. This design allows horizontal privilege escalation between users of equivalent role level.
Attack Vector
An attacker requires an authenticated contributor account on a WordPress site running a vulnerable version of the plugin. Once authenticated, the attacker issues requests to seating action endpoints while supplying event or seating identifiers belonging to other authors. The plugin processes the request and overwrites the targeted seating layout, ticket inventory, or attendee assignments. No user interaction from the victim is required. See the WPScan Vulnerability Report for additional technical detail.
Detection Methods for CVE-2026-14823
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected modifications to seating layouts or ticket inventories on events not authored by the modifying user
- Attendee seat reassignments made by contributor accounts that do not own the associated event
- Administrator audit log entries showing seating action requests from low-privilege accounts
Detection Strategies
- Review WordPress activity logs for seating-related AJAX or REST requests originating from contributor accounts
- Correlate the post_author field of affected events with the user ID performing seating modifications
- Compare current seating configurations against known-good snapshots to identify unauthorized changes
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable a WordPress audit logging plugin to capture user actions against event and seating objects
- Alert on any seating layout write action executed by a user whose ID does not match the target event's author
- Monitor for spikes in seating action requests from non-administrator roles
How to Mitigate CVE-2026-14823
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade the Event Tickets and Registration plugin to version 5.29.0.1 or later
- Audit contributor and higher-role accounts and remove unnecessary privileges
- Review recent seating layout, ticket inventory, and attendee assignment changes for unauthorized modifications
Patch Information
The vendor addressed the vulnerability in Event Tickets and Registration version 5.29.0.1. Update through the WordPress plugin dashboard or by replacing the plugin files from the official repository. Reference the WPScan Vulnerability Report for advisory details.
Workarounds
- Temporarily restrict contributor and author roles from accessing the plugin's seating features until the update is applied
- Disable the Event Tickets and Registration plugin if patching cannot be performed immediately
- Use a role management plugin to remove seating-related capabilities from lower-privilege roles
# Update the plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin update event-tickets --version=5.29.0.1
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
