CVE-2026-24945: Contact Form 7 Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2026-24945 Overview

CVE-2026-24945 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability (CWE-862) affecting Themefic's Ultimate Addons for Contact Form 7 WordPress plugin. This broken access control flaw allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured security levels, potentially enabling unauthorized actions within WordPress installations using the vulnerable plugin.

The vulnerability stems from missing authorization checks in the plugin's functionality, allowing unauthenticated attackers to bypass intended access restrictions. This type of flaw is particularly concerning in WordPress environments where plugins often handle sensitive form data and site configurations.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit missing authorization checks to perform unauthorized actions, potentially compromising the integrity of WordPress sites using the Ultimate Addons for Contact Form 7 plugin.

Affected Products

• Ultimate Addons for Contact Form 7 version 3.5.34 and earlier
• WordPress sites using the ultimate-addons-for-contact-form-7 plugin
• All versions from initial release through <= 3.5.34

Discovery Timeline

• February 3, 2026 - CVE-2026-24945 published to NVD
• February 3, 2026 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-24945

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability represents a classic broken access control issue where the Ultimate Addons for Contact Form 7 plugin fails to properly verify user authorization before allowing certain operations. The flaw is network-accessible and requires no authentication or user interaction to exploit, making it particularly dangerous in publicly accessible WordPress installations.

The vulnerability allows attackers to bypass access control mechanisms that should restrict certain plugin functionality to authorized users only. While the confidentiality impact is minimal, the integrity impact allows attackers to potentially modify data or settings they should not have access to.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2026-24945 is the absence of proper authorization checks (CWE-862: Missing Authorization) in the plugin's codebase. WordPress plugins should implement capability checks using functions like current_user_can() to verify that the requesting user has appropriate permissions before executing privileged operations.

In this case, one or more AJAX handlers or API endpoints within the Ultimate Addons for Contact Form 7 plugin fail to validate that the requesting user has the necessary WordPress capabilities before processing the request. This allows unauthenticated or low-privileged users to perform actions that should be restricted.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, meaning an attacker can exploit this vulnerability remotely without requiring any local access to the target system. The exploitation process involves:

1. An attacker identifies a WordPress site running a vulnerable version of Ultimate Addons for Contact Form 7
2. The attacker crafts requests to the vulnerable endpoints that lack proper authorization checks
3. Without valid authentication or proper privilege levels, the attacker can execute restricted functionality
4. This could lead to unauthorized modifications of plugin settings or form configurations

The vulnerability can be triggered through standard HTTP requests to WordPress AJAX endpoints or REST API routes exposed by the plugin. For detailed technical information, see the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-24945

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected changes to Contact Form 7 configurations or Ultimate Addons settings
• Suspicious AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with plugin-specific action parameters from unauthenticated sources
• Unusual modifications to form submission handling or email routing configurations
• Web server logs showing repeated requests to plugin endpoints without proper authentication

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress audit logs for unauthorized changes to plugin settings or form configurations
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block requests to vulnerable plugin endpoints from unauthenticated users
• Review access logs for suspicious patterns of requests targeting the ultimate-addons-for-contact-form-7 plugin
• Use WordPress security plugins to scan for broken access control vulnerabilities

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for WordPress AJAX handlers and REST API endpoints
• Configure alerts for any configuration changes to Contact Form 7 or its addons
• Implement rate limiting on plugin AJAX endpoints to prevent automated exploitation
• Regularly audit plugin permissions and capability checks in custom WordPress deployments

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-24945

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Ultimate Addons for Contact Form 7 to a version newer than 3.5.34 that includes the security fix
• If an update is not immediately available, consider temporarily deactivating the plugin until a patch is released
• Review any form configurations or plugin settings for unauthorized modifications
• Audit user accounts and access logs for signs of compromise

Patch Information

Site administrators should update the Ultimate Addons for Contact Form 7 plugin to the latest available version that addresses this vulnerability. Monitor the plugin's changelog and the Patchstack vulnerability database for patch release announcements.

To update via WordPress admin:

1. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins
2. Locate "Ultimate Addons for Contact Form 7"
3. Click "Update Now" if an update is available

Workarounds

• Temporarily deactivate the Ultimate Addons for Contact Form 7 plugin if updates are not immediately available
• Implement additional access restrictions at the web server level using .htaccess or nginx configuration rules to limit access to plugin AJAX endpoints
• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules specific to WordPress broken access control patterns
• Consider restricting access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php for unauthenticated users where feasible

# Example .htaccess restriction for WordPress AJAX (use with caution)
# This blocks unauthenticated access to specific plugin actions
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/wp-admin/admin-ajax\.php$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} action=uacf7_ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} !wordpress_logged_in [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>