CVE-2026-16149 (GCVE-0-2026-16149)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-08-22 23:27 – Updated: 2026-08-24 18:19
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Title
Security Hardener <= 2.4.4 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via REST API '/wp/v2/users' permission_callback Overwrite
Summary
The Security Hardener plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Missing Authorization in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.4. The vulnerability exists because the plugin's user-enumeration protection, which is enabled by default, hooks the rest_endpoints filter via secure_user_endpoints() and overwrites every registered handler's permission_callback on both the /wp/v2/users and /wp/v2/users/(?P<id>[\d]+) routes — including POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE handlers — with a bare closure that returns only is_user_logged_in(), completely stripping WordPress Core's original capability checks such as create_users, promote_user, edit_users, and delete_users that WP_REST_Users_Controller normally enforces. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access and above to create new Administrator accounts by sending POST request to /wp/v2/users with administrator role, or to reset an existing Administrator's password by issuing a PUT/POST request to /wp/v2/users/<id>. Because the block_user_enum option defaults to enabled, no special plugin configuration is required — the overwrite is active on every request as soon as the plugin is installed.
Severity
8.8 (High)
SSVC
Exploitation: none
Automatable: no
Technical Impact: total
CISA Coordinator · CISA-ADP (v2.0.3)
Decision recorded 2026-08-24 18:19 UTC
CWE
- CWE-269 - Improper Privilege Management
Assigner
References
8 references
Impacted products
1 product
| Vendor | Product | Version | CPE status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| marc4 | Security Hardener |
Affected:
0 , ≤ 2.4.4
(semver)
|
guessed |
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| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
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