CVE-2026-24535: WordPress Plugin Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2026-24535 Overview

CVE-2026-24535 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability affecting the "Automatic Featured Images from Videos" WordPress plugin developed by webdevstudios. This Broken Access Control flaw allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially enabling unauthorized access to sensitive functionality within the plugin.

The vulnerability stems from a lack of proper authorization checks (CWE-862), which means authenticated users with low privileges may be able to access features or data that should be restricted to higher-privileged roles.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers can bypass access controls to potentially access confidential information due to missing authorization checks in the plugin.

Affected Products

• Automatic Featured Images from Videos plugin versions through 1.2.7
• WordPress installations using vulnerable versions of this plugin
• Sites relying on the plugin's video-to-featured-image functionality

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-23 - CVE-2026-24535 published to NVD
• 2026-01-26 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-24535

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as a Missing Authorization issue (CWE-862), a common weakness in web applications where security checks fail to verify whether a user has permission to perform a requested action. In the context of WordPress plugins, this typically occurs when plugin functions accessible via AJAX handlers or REST API endpoints lack proper capability checks using functions like current_user_can().

The flaw enables network-based exploitation with low attack complexity. An attacker with low-level privileges (such as a subscriber account) can potentially access plugin functionality that should be restricted to administrators or editors. While the vulnerability does not directly impact data integrity or availability, it does allow for unauthorized information disclosure.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of proper authorization validation within the plugin's code paths. WordPress plugins must implement capability checks to ensure that only users with appropriate roles can execute sensitive operations. When these checks are missing or improperly configured, lower-privileged users can access restricted functionality.

The plugin fails to properly verify user permissions before processing requests, allowing any authenticated user to invoke protected functions regardless of their assigned role or capabilities.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires the attacker to have a valid authenticated session on the WordPress site, even with minimal privileges such as a subscriber role. The exploitation process involves:

1. Creating or compromising a low-privileged user account on the target WordPress site
2. Identifying the vulnerable AJAX actions or REST endpoints exposed by the plugin
3. Crafting requests to these endpoints to access functionality intended for higher-privileged users
4. Extracting sensitive information or triggering unauthorized actions

Since no verified code examples are available for this vulnerability, technical exploitation details can be found in the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-24535

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual AJAX requests from low-privileged user accounts to plugin-specific endpoints
• Access logs showing subscriber or contributor accounts invoking administrative plugin functions
• Unexpected changes to featured images or video-related settings by unauthorized users
• Authentication logs showing activity patterns inconsistent with user role permissions

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress AJAX action hooks for requests originating from accounts with insufficient capabilities
• Implement logging for all plugin-specific function calls that modify content or settings
• Review web server access logs for patterns of requests to admin-ajax.php with plugin-specific action parameters
• Deploy WordPress security plugins that can detect and alert on privilege escalation attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive audit logging for all authenticated user actions within WordPress
• Configure alerts for failed capability checks or authorization bypass attempts
• Regularly review user activity reports to identify anomalous behavior patterns
• Implement real-time monitoring of plugin-related database modifications

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-24535

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Automatic Featured Images from Videos plugin to the latest patched version when available
• Audit existing user accounts and remove any unnecessary low-privileged accounts
• Review recent activity logs for signs of exploitation
• Consider temporarily deactivating the plugin until a security patch is released if it handles sensitive operations

Patch Information

Affected versions of the Automatic Featured Images from Videos plugin include all releases through version 1.2.7. Site administrators should monitor the plugin's official update channel and apply security patches as soon as they become available. For detailed patch information, consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Workarounds

• Implement additional access control measures using WordPress security plugins with capability enforcement
• Restrict user registration on the site to prevent attackers from obtaining authenticated access
• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to filter suspicious AJAX requests targeting the plugin
• Apply the principle of least privilege by regularly auditing and minimizing user capabilities

# Example: Disable user registration via wp-config.php to reduce attack surface
# Add this line to wp-config.php
define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true);

# Check current plugin version via WP-CLI
wp plugin list --name=automatic-featured-images-from-videos --fields=name,version,status

# Monitor for suspicious AJAX activity in access logs
grep "admin-ajax.php" /var/log/apache2/access.log | grep "automatic-featured-images"