What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-23550?

CVE-2026-23550 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 6.8%.

Is there a public PoC exploit available for CVE-2026-23550?

Yes, a public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2026-23550. Prioritise patching immediately. EPSS: 6.8%.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-23550?

Within 24 hours: Identify all affected systems and apply vendor patches immediately. Monitor vendor channels for patch availability.

Wordpress Plugin CVE-2026-23550

CRITICAL

Incorrect Privilege Assignment (CWE-266)

2026-01-14 audit@patchstack.com

WordPress Privilege Escalation Wordpress Plugin

9.8

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

View

Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

Access

Send unauthenticated network request to Modular DS
Exploit

Exploit incorrect privilege assignment
Execution

Escalate to administrative privileges
Impact

Execute arbitrary code with high impact

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-266 OWASP Top 10:2025 A06:2025 - Insecure Design ASVS 5.0 V8 - Authorization Privilege assignment review
Exploitation Conditions	No special conditions — remote unauthenticated exploitation against default configurations of Modular DS versions through 2.5.1 with privilege assignment mechanism enabled.
Impact	CVSS 10.0 (Critical). No auth, scope change. EPSS 6.8% – high exploitation probability.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	An attacker exploits the privilege escalation to gain admin access and full server control.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity + public POC available.

No patch listed yet 6.8% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 12, 2026

Modular DS WordPress plugin (through 2.5.1) has incorrect privilege assignment allowing unauthenticated privilege escalation. Maximum CVSS 10.0 with scope change, EPSS 6.8%.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)

v1 Mar 12, 2026 - 21:54 CVSS 10.0

Modular DS allows unauthenticated privilege escalation with maximum severity.

RemediationAI

Remove or update immediately.

Affected ProductsAI

Modular DS through 2.5.1

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

Incorrect privilege assignment (CWE-266) allows attackers to escalate to admin without authentication. The scope change indicates impact beyond the WordPress application.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL

AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Lifecycle Timeline

CVSS changed

Apr 23, 2026 - 15:43 NVD

10.0 (CRITICAL) 9.8 (CRITICAL)

CVE Published

Jan 14, 2026 - 09:16 nvd

CRITICAL 10.0

DescriptionCVE.org

Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability in Modular DS allows Privilege Escalation.This issue affects Modular DS: from n/a through 2.5.1.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Organizations using Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability in Modular DS face critical risk from CVE-2026-23550 rated CVSS 10.0. Successful exploitation could critically impact the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of affected systems. Organizations should apply vendor updates immediately when available and implement compensating controls in the interim.

Business Impact: Severe

Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch. If immediate patching is not feasible: (1) Implement network-level access controls to limit exposure; (2) Enable enhanced monitoring and alerting; (3) Apply principle of least privilege.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

6.8%

Top 9% exploitable

Exploit

POC

Public exploit code exists

Data Quality

3 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS POC (1)

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity CRITICAL

CISA KEV No

Public POC Yes

EPSS 6.8%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

CRITICAL severity + public POC available

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Out-of-Cycle

Exploitation· derived

Poc

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Yes

Human Impact

Very High

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +7

CVSS: +49

PoC: +20

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege Escalation HIGH

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.