Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessIdentify WordPress site with SAML SSO plugin ≤5.4.4
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DeliveryCraft SAMLResponse with admin NameID and malformed signature
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ExploitSubmit to SAML login endpoint
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Executionopenssl_verify() returns -1, accepted as valid
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Persistwp_set_auth_cookie() issued for admin
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ImpactFull administrative site takeover
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 | Exploitation requires that the target WordPress site has the miniOrange SAML Single Sign On - SSO Login plugin (version ≤ 5.4.4) installed and active as a SAML service provider with SP-initiated or IdP-initiated login enabled, so that the plugin's mo_saml_validate_signature() code path processes attacker-submitted SAMLResponse data. The attacker must know or guess a valid NameID/username for an existing account (administrator usernames are frequently enumerable), and must craft a signature value malformed enough to make openssl_verify() return -1 rather than 0. Limiting factors: the plugin must be present and configured for SAML login (not a default WordPress feature), and the targeted account must already exist. Beyond that there are no authentication, privilege, or user-interaction requirements - it is remotely reachable against any affected, configured installation. |
| Impact | The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H = 9.8) is internally consistent with the description: fully remote, no privileges, no user interaction, and full compromise of the targeted account up to administrator. This is a genuine high-priority issue rather than a high-CVSS-but-low-real-risk case, because the exploit primitive is simple and deterministic - an attacker only needs to force openssl_verify() to error out with a malformed signature, which requires no secrets or brute force. No EPSS score, KEV listing, or SSVC decision data was provided, so probabilistic exploitation signals cannot be quantified here; the assessment rests on the code-level analysis from Wordfence rather than observed exploitation. No KEV means it is not confirmed as actively exploited, and no POC was supplied, but the trivial and well-documented nature of the bug means weaponization would be low-effort. The one prerequisite that tempers universal risk is that the plugin must actually be installed and configured as a SAML service provider. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker locates a WordPress site using the miniOrange SAML SSO plugin and submits a crafted SAMLResponse to the plugin's ACS/login endpoint containing a NameID mapping to an administrator account and a deliberately malformed signature value. The malformed signature causes openssl_verify() to return -1 (an OpenSSL processing error), which the plugin misreads as valid, and wp_set_auth_cookie() is called for the admin account. Given AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N this requires no authentication, no user interaction, and only a single HTTP request; no public POC was identified at time of analysis but the technique is fully described. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Jul 23, 2026
Authentication bypass in the miniOrange SAML Single Sign On - SSO Login plugin for WordPress (all versions through 5.4.4) lets unauthenticated attackers log in as any user, including administrators. The flaw stems from mo_saml_validate_signature() applying a loose boolean check to the tri-state integer returned by PHP's openssl_verify(), so the error value -1 is treated as truthy and accepted as a valid signature. Reported by Wordfence with a CVSS of 9.8; no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, though the root cause and vulnerable code lines are publicly documented in the plugin source.
RemediationAI
Update the plugin to the fixed release published in WordPress.org changeset 3611421 (https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3611421/miniorange-saml-20-single-sign-on); an upstream fix is available as a committed changeset, but a specific tagged patched version was not independently confirmed from the provided data, so verify the installed version is newer than 5.4.4 after updating. If you cannot patch immediately, deactivate the SAML SSO Login plugin to close the bypass entirely - the trade-off is that SAML-based login becomes unavailable and users must fall back to standard WordPress authentication. As an interim compensating control, restrict network access to the SAML assertion consumer/login endpoints (for example via WAF rules or IP allowlisting to trusted IdP egress addresses) so arbitrary unauthenticated SAMLResponse submissions are blocked; note this only works where the IdP has a stable, known source range. Review authentication logs and existing admin accounts for unexpected logins created via SAML, since the bypass leaves few other artifacts.
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 vulnerability lives in the plugin's SAML 2.0 response-handling stack (class-mo-saml-login-validate.php, class-mo-saml-utilities.php, and the bundled SAML2Core XML security library). PHP's openssl_verify() is explicitly tri-state: it returns 1 for a valid signature, 0 for an invalid signature, and -1 when an internal OpenSSL processing error occurs. Because the code evaluates the raw return value in a loose boolean context rather than strictly comparing to === 1, the -1 error state passes as success. This is a classic CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) failure driven by a signature-verification logic error: cryptographic verification is effectively skipped, so a SAML assertion's NameID is trusted without a validated signature. Affected package per CPE is cpe:2.3:a:cyberlord92:saml_single_sign_on_-_sso_login (the miniorange-saml-20-single-sign-on plugin).
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Remote, single unauthenticated request with no user interaction yields full admin account takeover, so AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N and C:H/I:H/A:H; scope unchanged within WordPress.
Primary rating from Vendor (Wordfence).
CVSS VectorVendor: Wordfence
DescriptionCVE.org
The SAML Single Sign On - SSO Login plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass in all versions up to, and including, 5.4.4. This is due to the mo_saml_validate_signature() function performing a loose boolean check on the raw tri-state integer returned by PHP's openssl_verify(), causing an error return value of -1 to be evaluated as truthy and therefore treated as a successful signature verification. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to log in as any existing WordPress user, including administrators, by submitting a crafted SAMLResponse containing an attacker-controlled NameID and a deliberately malformed signature value that triggers an OpenSSL processing error - bypassing verification entirely and resulting in wp_set_auth_cookie() being called for the targeted account.
Articles & Coverage 1
Executive ViewAI
The miniOrange SAML SSO Login plugin for WordPress (all versions through 5.4.4) contains a critical authentication bypass vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) allowing any external attacker to gain administrator-level access without credentials, though no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis. For organizations using this plugin as an identity management layer, this represents complete compromise of access controls and poses an immediate risk of unauthorized administrative access. The vulnerable code is publicly documented, meaning exploitation is likely only a matter of time, requiring urgent removal or replacement of the plugin.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: immediately disable or remove the vulnerable plugin from all WordPress instances; implement WAF rules to block authentication requests to the vulnerable plugin if removal is temporarily impossible; restrict WordPress administrative panel access by strict IP allowlist; conduct emergency audit of all administrator and user accounts for unauthorized creation or privilege escalation; implement real-time alerting for failed login attempts and privilege escalation patterns; require multi-factor authentication on all remaining local administrative accounts; maintain enhanced monitoring and logging until plugin replacement is complete.
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.
The (1) TLS and (2) DTLS implementations in OpenSSL 1.0.1 before 1.0.1g do not properly handle Heartbeat Extension packe
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The dtls1_reassemble_fragment function in d1_both.c in OpenSSL before 0.9.8za, 1.0.0 before 1.0.0m, and 1.0.1 before 1.0
OpenSSL before 0.9.8za, 1.0.0 before 1.0.0m, and 1.0.1 before 1.0.1h does not properly restrict processing of ChangeCiph
The SSLv2 protocol, as used in OpenSSL before 1.0.1s and 1.0.2 before 1.0.2g and other products, requires a server to se
The ssl3_get_key_exchange function in s3_clnt.c in OpenSSL before 0.9.8zd, 1.0.0 before 1.0.0p, and 1.0.1 before 1.0.1k
In addition to the c_rehash shell command injection identified in CVE-2022-1292, further circumstances where the c_rehas
The TLS protocol 1.2 and earlier, when a DHE_EXPORT ciphersuite is enabled on a server but not on a client, does not pro
The SSL protocol 3.0, as used in OpenSSL through 1.0.1i and other products, uses nondeterministic CBC padding, which mak
The AES-NI implementation in OpenSSL before 1.0.1t and 1.0.2 before 1.0.2h does not consider memory allocation during a
The X509_verify_cert function in crypto/x509/x509_vfy.c in OpenSSL 1.0.1n, 1.0.1o, 1.0.2b, and 1.0.2c does not properly
A buffer overrun can be triggered in X.509 certificate verification, specifically in name constraint checking. Rated hig
EUVD-2026-48429
GHSA-wgjx-q85h-87v2
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB