CVE-2026-25011: WP Custom Admin Interface Auth Bypass

CVE-2026-25011 Overview

CVE-2026-25011 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability affecting the WP Custom Admin Interface WordPress plugin developed by Northern Beaches Websites. This broken access control flaw allows authenticated attackers with low privileges to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially enabling unauthorized modification of plugin settings or administrative interface customizations.

Critical Impact

Authenticated users with minimal privileges can bypass authorization checks to modify administrative interface settings, potentially compromising the integrity of the WordPress admin experience and enabling further privilege escalation scenarios.

Affected Products

• WP Custom Admin Interface plugin versions through 7.41
• WordPress installations running the vulnerable plugin versions
• Sites with multiple user roles where low-privileged users have authenticated access

Discovery Timeline

• February 3, 2026 - CVE-2026-25011 published to NVD
• February 3, 2026 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-25011

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability falls under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), indicating that the WP Custom Admin Interface plugin fails to properly verify user permissions before allowing access to sensitive functionality. The plugin provides WordPress administrators with tools to customize the admin dashboard interface, including menu modifications, branding changes, and administrative workflow adjustments.

The authorization bypass occurs because the plugin does not adequately check whether the requesting user has appropriate capabilities before processing certain administrative actions. This allows authenticated users with lower privilege levels (such as subscribers, contributors, or authors) to access and modify settings that should be restricted to administrators only.

The network-based attack vector requires only low privileges and no user interaction, making exploitation straightforward for any authenticated attacker. While the vulnerability does not directly enable data theft or service disruption, it does allow unauthorized modification of the WordPress administrative interface configuration.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2026-25011 is the absence of proper capability checks within the plugin's request handlers. WordPress provides a robust capabilities and roles system through functions like current_user_can(), but the vulnerable code paths in WP Custom Admin Interface fail to implement these authorization checks before executing privileged operations.

This is a common vulnerability pattern in WordPress plugins where developers assume that only administrators will access certain AJAX endpoints or form handlers, without explicitly enforcing these restrictions in code.

Attack Vector

An attacker exploiting this vulnerability would need:

1. A valid authenticated session on the target WordPress site (even with minimal privileges such as a subscriber account)
2. Knowledge of the plugin's administrative endpoints or AJAX handlers
3. The ability to craft and send HTTP requests to the vulnerable endpoints

Once authenticated, the attacker can directly interact with the plugin's configuration endpoints, bypassing the expected authorization flow. This could allow them to modify admin interface settings, potentially inserting malicious content, disabling security features, or preparing the environment for additional attacks.

Since no verified proof-of-concept code is available, the specific vulnerable endpoints and request parameters have not been publicly documented. Security researchers should refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for detailed technical information about the affected functionality.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-25011

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected changes to WordPress admin interface customizations not initiated by administrators
• Unusual modification timestamps on plugin configuration options in the wp_options table
• HTTP access logs showing low-privileged user accounts accessing WP Custom Admin Interface AJAX handlers
• Database audit trails indicating unauthorized option updates related to the wp-custom-admin-interface plugin

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress AJAX endpoints for requests to WP Custom Admin Interface handlers from non-administrator user sessions
• Implement file integrity monitoring to detect unexpected changes to plugin configuration files
• Configure web application firewall (WAF) rules to alert on suspicious parameter patterns targeting the plugin
• Review WordPress user activity logs for subscribers, contributors, or authors accessing administrative plugin functionality

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive logging for all WordPress AJAX requests including user role context
• Set up alerts for configuration changes to the WP Custom Admin Interface plugin settings
• Implement real-time monitoring of the wp_options table for unauthorized modifications
• Review authentication logs to identify accounts that may be attempting privilege escalation

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-25011

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the WP Custom Admin Interface plugin to the latest patched version when available from Northern Beaches Websites
• Audit all user accounts on affected WordPress installations and remove unnecessary authenticated access
• Review and restrict user role capabilities to the minimum required for business operations
• Consider temporarily deactivating the plugin if a patch is not yet available and the functionality is not critical

Patch Information

As of the last NVD update on February 3, 2026, affected versions include WP Custom Admin Interface through version 7.41. Site administrators should check the WordPress plugin repository and the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for updates on patch availability. Organizations should apply the security update immediately once released by the vendor.

Workarounds

• Restrict authenticated user registration and remove untrusted user accounts from the WordPress installation
• Implement additional authorization controls at the web server or WAF level to block non-administrator access to plugin endpoints
• Use a security plugin to add capability checks and restrict AJAX handler access based on user roles
• Consider using WordPress multisite network restrictions if applicable to limit plugin access per site

# Configuration example - Restrict access to plugin AJAX handlers via .htaccess
# Add to WordPress .htaccess file to block non-admin access (requires additional authentication logic)
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    # Log all requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php for monitoring
    # Implement server-side role verification for sensitive actions
</IfModule>

# Alternatively, disable plugin temporarily via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate wp-custom-admin-interface --path=/var/www/html