Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessIdentify Nginx WordPress site with Vulnity Security
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DeliveryRequest unprotected pairing credential file
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ExploitRetrieve stored delegated-login credential
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ExecutionForge signed REST API login request
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PersistAuthenticate as administrator
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ImpactFull site compromise
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Authentication mechanism validation
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Defense Evasion, Initial Access The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitable only on Nginx-based WordPress installations running Vulnity Security ≤1.4.3 where the plugin's delegated-login pairing feature is in use and its auto-generated Nginx server-config snippet guards the wrong directory path, leaving the pairing credential file web-accessible. Limiting factors: Apache (or other) web servers appear unaffected; the delegated-login pairing credential must exist; and success depends on the flawed config snippet being active (reflected as AC:H). No user interaction or prior authentication is required (UI:N/PR:N), so against a qualifying Nginx deployment it is remotely exploitable by any unauthenticated attacker. |
| Impact | This is a genuine high-severity authentication bypass but with meaningful real-world constraints that temper the raw 8.1 score. The CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N) correctly reflects that exploitation is network-based and unauthenticated, yet AC:H signals that success depends on a specific condition outside the attacker's control - namely an Nginx-based installation where the plugin's generated server-config snippet guards the wrong directory path. Impact is maximal (C:H/I:H/A:H) because retrieval of the pairing credential allows forging signed REST requests and full administrator takeover. No EPSS score, KEV listing, or public POC is present in the provided data, so exploitation status is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis' - this is not currently a confirmed active-exploitation priority. The signals are internally consistent rather than conflicting: a high-impact flaw gated by a non-default server stack (Nginx) and a specific plugin feature. Net judgment: patch promptly on affected Nginx WordPress sites running this plugin, but the limited product footprint and configuration dependency make mass exploitation less likely than the headline score suggests. Apache-based installations appear unaffected per the description. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An unauthenticated attacker targeting a WordPress site running Vulnity Security (≤1.4.3) on Nginx requests the delegated-login pairing credential file, which the plugin's generated Nginx config snippet fails to protect because it guards the wrong directory path. With the stolen credential the attacker forges a validly signed REST API request and authenticates as an administrator. No public exploit code is identified in the provided data, but the attack requires only HTTP access to a vulnerable Nginx-based deployment. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 16, 2026
Vulnity Security, a WordPress plugin maintained by Manuel Galan, can be bypassed to gain administrator access on Nginx-based installations running version 1.4.3 or earlier. The plugin's delegated-login feature writes a pairing credential file and auto-generates an Nginx configuration snippet intended to block web access to it, but the snippet guards the wrong directory path, leaving the credential file reachable by unauthenticated attackers who can then forge signed REST API requests and authenticate as an administrator. No public exploit code or confirmed active exploitation was identified at time of analysis, but the attack requires no authentication and no user interaction (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, 8.1), with High complexity arising from the dependency on a qualifying Nginx deployment where the delegated-login pairing credential exists and the flawed snippet is active; Apache and other web servers appear unaffected.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: 1.4.4 - upgrade the Vulnity Security plugin from any 1.4.3-or-earlier release to 1.4.4 via the WordPress admin updater or by deploying the tagged 1.4.4 build from https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&new=3719373%40vulnity%2Ftags%2F1.4.4&old=3717813%40vulnity%2Ftags%2F1.4.3, which carries the corrected configuration-generation logic (see also the trunk-side fix at https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3719370/vulnity/trunk/includes/class-static-security.php). Because the flaw lives in a generated Nginx snippet, upgrading the plugin may not retroactively repair an already-written config file: re-run the plugin's Nginx configuration generation (or manually edit the server block) and confirm with a direct HTTP request that the delegated-login pairing credential file returns 403/404 rather than 200. Additional compensating controls: if delegated-login pairing is not in use, disable that feature to eliminate the credential file entirely (side effect: loss of the delegated/REST sign-in workflow); rotate or delete any existing pairing credential so previously leaked material becomes useless (side effect: existing delegated sessions must re-pair); and, as a server-level fallback, add an explicit Nginx location block denying all access to the plugin's credential directory (side effect: must be maintained manually and can break the delegated-login feature if the path is over-restricted). Review access logs for unauthenticated GET requests to plugin credential paths as a possible indicator of prior retrieval of the pairing secret.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
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 root cause is CWE-287 (Improper Authentication), specifically a misconfiguration in the access-control layer the plugin deploys rather than in its cryptographic logic. Vulnity Security's delegated-login pairing mechanism generates a credential file that is used to sign REST API requests, and on Nginx installations the plugin emits a server-configuration snippet meant to deny HTTP access to that file's containing directory. Because the snippet references the wrong path, the credential material remains inside the web root and is retrievable over HTTP without authentication. Possession of that credential lets an attacker mint validly signed REST API requests, which the plugin's authentication handler accepts as a trusted delegated-login session, escalating to administrator. The CPE string cpe:2.3:a:manuelgalan:vulnity_security:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* is version-agnostic, so scoping must come from the plugin version itself: everything up to and including 1.4.3. The upstream fixes in the plugin's Trac repository (changeset 3719370 to trunk/includes/class-static-security.php, and the 1.4.3 to 1.4.4 tag diff at changeset 3719373) indicate the correction was made in the plugin's configuration-generation code, meaning existing deployments must regenerate or replace the stale Nginx snippet in addition to upgrading.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Remote unauthenticated (AV:N/PR:N/UI:N), but AC:H because exploitation depends on an Nginx deployment with the mis-pathed config snippet; credential theft enables full admin takeover, hence C:H/I:H/A:H.
Primary rating from Vendor (Wordfence).
CVSS VectorVendor: Wordfence
DescriptionCVE.org
The Vulnity Security plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in all versions up to, and including, 1.4.3 This is due to insufficient protection of the delegated-login pairing credential file on Nginx-based installations, where the plugin's generated server configuration snippet guards the wrong directory path. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to retrieve the stored credentials, forge signed REST API requests, and log in as an administrator.
Executive ViewAI
Vulnity Security plugin versions 1.4.3 and earlier on Nginx-hosted WordPress sites can be abused by unauthenticated attackers to obtain administrator access, putting site content, user data, and connected business integrations at risk. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and with no vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis, leadership should prioritize inventorying affected WordPress properties and containing exposure through plugin removal or strict Nginx access controls until a fix is available.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations include removing or deactivating the Vulnity Security plugin (versions 1.4.3 and earlier), disabling the delegated-login feature, manually blocking the pairing credential file and correct directory in Nginx, rotating pairing credentials, restricting administrative access, and monitoring REST API and admin account activity for signs of compromise.
Threat Intelligence Overview
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.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.
EUVD-2026-102815
GHSA-cpp4-39xq-w89m
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB