Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain low-privilege account
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ExploitSend request with manipulated object key
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ExecutionBypass access-control check (IDOR)
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ImpactRead or modify unauthorized SEO data
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Object-level authorization, IDOR prevention
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| Exploitation Conditions | Requires an authenticated session on the target WordPress site: per the CVSS vector PR:L, the attacker must already hold a low-privilege account (e.g., subscriber/contributor-level or any registered user), which limits exploitation to sites that allow or have such accounts. No user interaction and no special non-default configuration is indicated by the input. The vulnerable component is the SmartCrawl (smartcrawl-seo) plugin at versions from an unspecified start through 3.16.4; sites on later versions are not affected. The limiting factor is the authentication requirement - this is not a remote-unauthenticated flaw - which meaningfully constrains real-world risk relative to the network attack vector. |
| Impact | This is a moderate-severity, low-priority issue absent additional exploitation signals. The provided CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N, base 5.4) indicates a network-reachable, low-complexity attack requiring low-level privileges (PR:L) - i.e., any authenticated account such as a subscriber or contributor - with no user interaction, yielding only low confidentiality and low integrity impact and no availability impact. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis (no POC indicator in the input), the CVE is not listed in CISA KEV, and no EPSS probability was supplied, so there is no evidence of active or likely imminent exploitation. The CWE-639 (Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key / IDOR) classification is consistent with the PR:L and partial-impact scoring: an authenticated user manipulates an object reference to access or modify data outside their authorization scope. Net assessment: a legitimate IDOR worth patching on normal cadence, but not a drop-everything priority. Key missing signals to note explicitly: EPSS score is absent (cannot quantify exploitation probability), POC/exploit-code status is not stated in the input, and no independent vendor advisory beyond the Patchstack database entry was provided to confirm affected-version boundaries. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who holds any low-privilege authenticated account on a WordPress site running SmartCrawl 3.16.4 or earlier submits a request manipulating a user-controlled object identifier (key/ID) to read or alter SEO configuration or data belonging to other users or resources they should not reach. Because the attack is network-based, low-complexity, and needs no victim interaction (AV:N/AC:L/UI:N), it can be performed directly against the plugin's endpoints once authenticated. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 16, 2026
Authorization bypass in SmartCrawl (smartcrawl-seo) through version 3.16.4 allows an authenticated low-privilege user to manipulate a user-controlled key and access or modify data they should not be able to access, due to CWE-639 insecure direct object reference and incorrect access control configuration. This is a moderate-severity issue (CVSS 5.4, AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N) whose real-world risk is constrained by the requirement for a valid low-privilege account; no public exploit identified at time of analysis, and no KEV or EPSS signal was provided. Sites running affected SmartCrawl versions should monitor the Patchstack advisory and update beyond 3.16.4 once a fixed release is confirmed.
RemediationAI
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis in the provided data; the affected range ends at 3.16.4, so verify whether the vendor has published a release later than 3.16.4 and apply it as the primary remediation. Because the flaw requires an authenticated low-privilege account (PR:L), reduce exposure by restricting or closing user registration, downgrading or removing untrusted subscriber/contributor accounts, and enforcing least privilege on WordPress roles. As a compensating control, restrict access to SmartCrawl admin, REST, and AJAX functionality to trusted roles or specific IPs using a WAF or security plugin, but this may break legitimate plugin features for lower-privileged users and requires testing. Disabling the SmartCrawl plugin removes the vulnerable code path entirely at the cost of losing its SEO functionality. Review logs for user-controlled object ID tampering and monitor https://patchstack.com/database/wordpress/plugin/smartcrawl-seo/vulnerability/wordpress-smartcrawl-plugin-3-16-4-insecure-direct-object-references-idor-vulnerability?_s_id=cve for updates.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
SmartCrawl is a WordPress SEO plugin maintained by WPMU DEV, and the CPE cpe:2.3:a:wpmu_dev:smartcrawl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* identifies the affected product generically across versions. CWE-639 (Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key) describes an IDOR-style root cause: an object identifier or key supplied by the requester, such as a post ID, user ID, or settings key, is used without verifying that the authenticated user owns or is authorized for that object. In WordPress, this typically manifests through REST API routes, admin-ajax actions, or direct plugin admin pages that fail to perform capability checks or nonce/ownership validation. The CVSS vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N indicates the attack is network-reachable, low complexity, requires low privileges (an authenticated account), needs no user interaction, and yields partial confidentiality and integrity impact with no availability impact. The independent assessment notes the flaw is not remote-unauthenticated; the PR:L prerequisite meaningfully limits exploitation to sites with registered low-privilege users or open registration. Affected range is unspecified start through 3.16.4; later versions are not affected.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
IDOR reachable over the network by any low-privilege authenticated user (PR:L, AV:N, AC:L, UI:N) granting unauthorized read and modify of limited data (C:L/I:L), no availability impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (Patchstack).
CVSS VectorVendor: Patchstack
DescriptionCVE.org
Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in WPMU DEV SmartCrawl smartcrawl-seo allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects SmartCrawl: from n/a through 3.16.4.
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-2026-102862
GHSA-rgf9-cfvx-22f4
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB