What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-28005?

CVE-2026-28005 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: 0.3%.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-28005?

Within 24 hours, identify all WordPress installations using the Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer plugin and immediately disable or remove it; if removal disrupts critical email functionality, isolate affected sites behind additional network access controls. Within 7 days, conduct a security audit of any site where this plugin was active to identify unauthorized administrator accounts or files modified during the plugin's operational period; review all server access and WordPress logs for suspicious activity. Within 30 days, monitor Patchstack and Kadence's official security advisories for a patched release (target version 1.5.20 or later), test thoroughly in a staging environment, and deploy to production only after security validation.

Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer CVE-2026-28005

EUVD-2026-53939 CRITICAL

Missing Authorization (CWE-862)

2026-08-06 Patchstack

GHSA-x6xp-4xjv-q7c6

WordPress Authentication Bypass Privilege Escalation Wordpress Plugin Kadence Woocommerce Email Designer Nexcess

9.8

CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Patchstack

View

Attack ChainAIDerived

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

Access

Scan for sites running plugin ≤1.5.19
Delivery

Send crafted request to unprotected endpoint
Exploit

Bypass missing authorization check
Execution

Escalate privileges / alter trusted settings
Impact

Gain administrative control of site

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-862 OWASP Top 10:2025 A01:2025 - Broken Access Control ASVS 5.0 V8 - Authorization Authorization checks on every request MITRE ATT&CK 1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. Sign in to read
Exploitation Conditions	The target site must run WordPress with WooCommerce and have the Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer plugin installed and active at version 1.5.19 or earlier, with the vulnerable authorization-missing endpoint network-reachable (the standard case for internet-facing WordPress). Per the CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) there are no special conditions - remote unauthenticated exploitation works against default configurations, with no authentication, no user interaction, and low attack complexity. The only meaningful limiting factors are whether the plugin is present and active and whether it falls in the ≤1.5.19 vulnerable window; the exact vulnerable feature/endpoint is not specified in the provided data.
Impact	The signals are strong but partially incomplete. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, score 9.8) describes a trivially reachable, unauthenticated, network-based flaw with full confidentiality/integrity/availability impact - the worst-case profile for a WordPress plugin. However, no EPSS score, SSVC decision, KEV entry, or POC was provided, so real-world exploitation pressure cannot be quantified from the data; that absence is a genuine gap, not evidence of low risk. The finding is credible (Patchstack is a specialist WordPress vulnerability source), and the 9.8 rating combined with 'Privilege Escalation' + 'Authentication Bypass' tags implies the high automation potential typical of mass WordPress scanning. Net: treat as a high patching priority given the unauthenticated full-impact profile, while explicitly noting that active-exploitation and EPSS data are missing rather than confirmed low.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	An attacker scans the internet for WordPress sites running the Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer plugin, then sends a single crafted unauthenticated HTTP request to the vulnerable AJAX/REST handler that lacks an authorization check. Because no credentials or user interaction are required (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N), the request escalates privileges or alters trusted settings, yielding control over the site. No public POC is identified at time of analysis, but the low-complexity unauthenticated nature makes automated mass exploitation feasible if code is released.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.

No patch listed yet 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 06, 2026

Privilege escalation in the Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer WordPress plugin (all versions up to and including 1.5.19) lets unauthenticated remote attackers gain elevated privileges due to a missing authorization check (CWE-862). Reported by Patchstack and tracked as EUVD-2026-53939, the flaw carries a CVSS 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) rating, so no login or user interaction is required. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and it is not listed in CISA KEV, so exploitation is not confirmed in the wild.

RemediationAI

No vendor-released patch version is identified in the provided data; the advisory bounds the vulnerability at ≤1.5.19, so administrators should upgrade to the first vendor release above 1.5.19 as soon as it is published and confirm the fixed build via the Patchstack advisory (https://patchstack.com/database/wordpress/plugin/kadence-woocommerce-email-designer/vulnerability/wordpress-kadence-woocommerce-email-designer-plugin-1-5-19-privilege-escalation-vulnerability). Until a fixed version is confirmed and applied, the safest compensating control is to deactivate and remove the plugin, with the trade-off that customized WooCommerce email templates revert to defaults. If removal is unacceptable, deploy a WAF or virtual patch (Patchstack offers one for this CVE) and, where feasible, restrict access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php and the plugin's REST/AJAX actions at the reverse proxy - noting this may break legitimate front-end AJAX. Additionally monitor for unexpected new administrator accounts or role changes as a detection measure.

Affected VersionsENISA

Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer n/a ≤1.5.19

Affected Packages

euvd kadence_woocommerce_email_designer no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

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

Technical ContextAI · show details

The affected component is a WordPress plugin (CPE cpe:2.3:a:nexcess:kadence_woocommerce_email_designer) that customizes WooCommerce transactional email templates on sites running WordPress + WooCommerce. The root cause is CWE-862 (Missing Authorization): one or more of the plugin's handlers - typically AJAX actions, REST endpoints, or admin_post/admin-ajax hooks - execute privileged operations without verifying the caller's capability (e.g. current_user_can) or a valid nonce. In WordPress plugins this class of bug commonly lets an unauthenticated request reach functionality intended only for administrators, which in an email-template plugin can include writing arbitrary option/settings values that are subsequently trusted, enabling account or role manipulation. Patchstack's 'Authentication Bypass' tag reinforces that the authorization gate, rather than the underlying feature, is what fails.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (Patchstack) PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL

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

vuln.today AI 9.8 CRITICAL

Missing authorization on a network-reachable WordPress endpoint yields unauthenticated (PR:N), no-interaction, low-complexity privilege escalation with full impact, consistent with the reported 9.8.

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

4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (Patchstack).

CVSS VectorVendor: Patchstack

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

DescriptionCVE.org

Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation in Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer <= 1.5.19 versions.

Articles & Coverage 1

News Critical Privilege Escalation in Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer - CVE-2026-28005 Aug 07, 2026

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

The Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer plugin (versions ≤1.5.19) contains a critical privilege escalation vulnerability allowing unauthenticated attackers to gain full administrator access to any WordPress site running this plugin. This flaw threatens complete site takeover, customer data exposure, and business disruption for e-commerce operations. Organizations using this plugin must immediately remove or disable it pending vendor patch release.

Business Impact: Severe

Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: immediately disable and remove the plugin via WordPress admin panel or file system; restrict WordPress administrator login to known office IP addresses using WAF or web server rules; enforce multi-factor authentication on all WordPress administrator accounts; disable WordPress file editing and restrict plugin/theme access permissions; deploy real-time monitoring for unauthorized administrator account creation and suspicious REST API activity.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

0.3%

Top 74% exploitable

Prevalence

Medium

popular WooCommerce email plugin, common but not universal across WordPress sites

Data Quality

5 sources

Confidence: Medium

EUVD

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

Vulnrichment

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 No

EPSS 0.3%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

CRITICAL severity

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

Out-of-Cycle

Exploitation

None

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable

Yes

Human Impact

Very High

Technical Impact

Total

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: 0

CVSS: +49

PoC: 0

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication Bypass CRITICAL

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

Privilege Escalation HIGH

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