EUVD-2026-59778
GHSA-hmmc-48gm-3645
Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Remote, unauthenticated, low-complexity authorization bypass yielding administrator takeover gives PR:N/UI:N/AC:L with full C/I/A impact; scope unchanged within WordPress.
Primary rating from Vendor (wordfence).
CVSS VectorVendor: wordfence
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
The Pods - Custom Content Types and Fields plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation via Authorization Bypass in all versions up to, and including, 3.3.9. The vulnerability exists because the pods_admin AJAX router funnels every access check - including the method allowlist, nonce verification, login enforcement, and capability gate - through pods_error(), which under the JSON meta-box-loader compatibility path only writes failures to the PHP error log and returns false instead of terminating the request, rendering all guards ineffective. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to escalate their privileges to Administrator or overwrite the password of any user account, including the site owner's, enabling complete site takeover, or perform another administrator action.
Articles & Coverage 1
AnalysisAI
Unauthenticated privilege escalation in the Pods - Custom Content Types and Fields plugin for WordPress (all versions through 3.3.9) lets remote attackers bypass every authorization guard on the pods_admin AJAX router and perform administrator-level actions. Because failed checks return false instead of halting execution, an attacker with no account can promote themselves to Administrator or overwrite any user's password - including the site owner's - leading to full site takeover. Reported by Wordfence; no public exploit identified at time of analysis, though the root cause is precisely described.
Technical ContextAI
The affected component is the Pods plugin's AJAX request router (pods_admin) in includes/general.php. Pods is a WordPress framework for defining custom content types, taxonomies, and fields, so this handler is reachable via the standard admin-ajax.php endpoint. The flaw is an instance of CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization): the router consolidates its method allowlist, nonce verification, login enforcement, and capability checks into a single pods_error() call. Under the JSON meta-box-loader compatibility path, pods_error() is designed to be non-fatal - it writes the failure to the PHP error log and returns false rather than calling wp_die()/exit. Because the calling code treats that return as a soft failure and continues, none of the stacked guards actually stop the request, collapsing authentication, nonce, and capability enforcement simultaneously.
RemediationAI
No vendor-released patched version was identified in the provided data, so the specific fixed release cannot be cited with confidence; upgrade to the first Pods release later than 3.3.9 as soon as it is published and confirmed via the Wordfence advisory (https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3628032a-3121-45a7-8a78-cfcd8ba6af2f?source=cve) and the plugin changelog. Until a fixed version is confirmed installed, the highest-value compensating control is to block or restrict access to the plugin's admin-ajax action: use a WAF rule (Wordfence or equivalent) to filter requests to admin-ajax.php carrying the pods_admin action, which stops the attack with minimal side effects on front-end visitors but may disrupt legitimate admin editing of Pods content. A stronger interim measure is to deactivate the Pods plugin entirely, which fully removes the attack surface at the cost of breaking any custom content types, fields, or templates the site depends on. As defense-in-depth, restrict /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php exposure where feasible and audit user accounts and password-reset activity for signs of unauthorized administrator creation or password changes before patching.
In PHP versions 7.1.x below 7.1.33, 7.2.x below 7.2.24 and 7.3.x below 7.3.11 in certain configurations of FPM setup it
sapi/cgi/cgi_main.c in PHP before 5.3.12 and 5.4.x before 5.4.2, when configured as a CGI script (aka php-cgi), does not
(1) boardData102.php, (2) boardData103.php, (3) boardDataJP.php, (4) boardDataNA.php, and (5) boardDataWW.php in Netgear
The '/common/download_agent_installer.php' script in the Quest KACE System Management Appliance 8.0.318 is accessible by
ProjectSend versions prior to r1720 are affected by an improper authentication vulnerability. Rated critical severity (C
Roundcube Webmail contains a critical PHP object deserialization vulnerability (CVE-2025-49113, CVSS 9.9) that allows au
Util/PHP/eval-stdin.php in PHPUnit before 4.8.28 and 5.x before 5.6.3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary PHP c
Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS management web interface contains an authentication bypass allowing unauthenticated attackers
Nagios XI version xi-5.7.5 is affected by OS command injection. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is re
Nagios XI version xi-5.7.5 is affected by OS command injection. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is re
The get_referers function in /opt/ws/bin/sblistpack in Sophos Web Appliance before 3.7.9.1 and 3.8 before 3.8.1.1 allows
The Backup Migration plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in all versions up to, and including, 1
Same weakness CWE-863 – Incorrect Authorization
View allSame technique Authentication Bypass
View allShare
External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today