CVE-2026-77194: Auth Bypass (CVSS 5.3)

Description

The Simple Membership plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass leading to Administrator Account Takeover in versions up to, and including, 4.8.0. This is due to improper identity verification during the public registration flow in WordPress Multisite environments, where the plugin binds new Simple Membership records to existing global WordPress users based solely on matching username and email, without requiring password verification or ownership proof, and fails to properly detect Administrator roles on child sites. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to take over Administrator accounts on child sites in a Multisite network by registering a Simple Membership account with a victim's credentials on a site where public registration is enabled, then updating the victim's global WordPress password through the profile edit functionality. The vulnerability was partially patched in version 4.8.1.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.3

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0042

Probability of exploitation

0.36%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-287 Improper Authentication

References

Other References

https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/simple-membership/tags/4.8.0/classes/class.swpm-form.php#L214 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/simple-membership/tags/4.8.0/classes/class.swpm-front-registration.php#L126 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/simple-membership/tags/4.8.0/classes/class.swpm-utils-member.php#L461 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/simple-membership/tags/4.8.0/classes/class.swpm-utils.php#L329 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/simple-membership/tags/4.8.0/classes/class.swpm-utils.php#L365 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3668897/ https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3673368/ https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/ccd3eae5-3d30-4d0d-8f95-5f0747e4e944?source=cve

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-77194? +

The Simple Membership plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass leading to Administrator Account Takeover in versions up to, and including, 4.8.0. This is due to improper identity verification during the public registration flow in WordPress Multisite environments, where the plugin binds new Simple Membership records to existing global WordPress users based solely on matching username and email, without requiring password verification or ownership proof, and fails to properly detect Administrator roles on child sites. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to take over Administrator accounts on child sites in a Multisite network by registering a Simple Membership account with a victim's credentials on a site where public registration is enabled, then updating the victim's global WordPress password through the profile edit functionality. The vulnerability was partially patched in version 4.8.1. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2026-77194? +

CVE-2026-77194 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.3 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance. The EPSS score is 0.0042, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-77194? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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CVE-2026-77194