CVE-2026-24997: Wired Impact Volunteer Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2026-24997 Overview

CVE-2026-24997 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability affecting the Wired Impact Volunteer Management plugin for WordPress. This security flaw allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially enabling unauthorized actions within the volunteer management system. The vulnerability stems from broken access control mechanisms that fail to properly verify user authorization before allowing sensitive operations.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can bypass access controls to perform unauthorized actions on WordPress sites using the vulnerable volunteer management plugin.

Affected Products

• Wired Impact Volunteer Management plugin versions up to and including 2.8
• WordPress installations using the wired-impact-volunteer-management plugin

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-03 - CVE-2026-24997 published to NVD
• 2026-02-03 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-24997

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), indicating that the affected plugin fails to implement proper authorization checks for certain functionality. The plugin processes requests without adequately verifying whether the requesting user has the appropriate permissions to perform the requested action. This broken access control condition allows attackers to bypass security restrictions that should limit access to authorized users only.

The vulnerability is remotely exploitable over the network without requiring authentication or user interaction, making it accessible to any attacker who can reach the WordPress installation. While the integrity impact is limited, successful exploitation allows unauthorized modification of data managed by the volunteer management system.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2026-24997 is the absence of proper authorization checks within the Wired Impact Volunteer Management plugin. Specifically, certain plugin functions that should be restricted to authorized users (such as administrators or registered volunteers) lack the necessary capability checks or nonce verification. This allows any user, including unauthenticated visitors, to invoke these functions and perform actions they should not have access to.

WordPress plugins should implement current_user_can() checks and nonce verification to ensure that only users with appropriate capabilities can execute sensitive operations. The absence of these safeguards in the affected versions creates the broken access control condition.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for this vulnerability is network-based, requiring no authentication or privileges. An attacker can directly send crafted HTTP requests to the WordPress installation hosting the vulnerable plugin. The attack does not require user interaction and can be automated to target multiple installations.

Attackers may exploit this vulnerability to:

• Access or modify volunteer data without authorization
• Manipulate volunteer management settings
• Potentially enumerate sensitive information about registered volunteers

For detailed technical information about the vulnerability, refer to the Patchstack security advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-24997

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected modifications to volunteer records or management settings
• Unusual HTTP requests targeting the wired-impact-volunteer-management plugin endpoints
• Access to volunteer management functions from unauthenticated sessions in access logs
• Anomalous activity patterns from external IP addresses interacting with plugin functionality

Detection Strategies

• Review WordPress access logs for requests to volunteer management plugin endpoints from unauthenticated users
• Monitor for unusual API calls or AJAX requests targeting the plugin's action hooks
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect access control bypass attempts
• Use WordPress security plugins to audit plugin activity and access patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for WordPress and the volunteer management plugin
• Set up alerts for unauthorized access attempts to administrative plugin functions
• Regularly audit user activity logs for anomalous behavior patterns
• Monitor file integrity to detect unauthorized changes to plugin files

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-24997

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Wired Impact Volunteer Management plugin to the latest patched version immediately
• Review volunteer data and plugin settings for any unauthorized modifications
• Audit WordPress access logs for evidence of exploitation attempts
• Consider temporarily deactivating the plugin if an immediate update is not possible

Patch Information

Website administrators should update the Wired Impact Volunteer Management plugin to a version newer than 2.8 that includes the security fix for this broken access control vulnerability. Check the Patchstack advisory for the latest information on available patches.

Workarounds

• Implement additional access control at the web server level using .htaccess rules to restrict access to plugin endpoints
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to block unauthorized requests to the volunteer management functionality
• Restrict access to the WordPress admin area by IP address if possible
• Consider using WordPress security plugins that provide additional access control hardening

# Example .htaccess rule to restrict plugin access by IP
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^.*wired-impact-volunteer-management.*$
RewriteCond %{REMOTE_ADDR} !^192\.168\.1\. 
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ - [F,L]
</IfModule>