CVE-2026-118194

MEDIUM CVSS 6.5

Published: 2026-10-30

Modified: 2026-10-30

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AI Threat Summary

CVE-2026-118194 is a moderate vulnerability with a CVSS score of 6.5 affecting the target software. Authentication can be bypassed allowing unauthenticated access. Threat hunters should monitor for exploit attempts and apply vendor patches immediately.

Description

The Page and Post Restriction plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass in all versions up to, and including, 1.6.1 This is due to the `papr_restrict_page_post_rest_api()` function, hooked on `rest_pre_dispatch`, re-authenticating the current user from the `wordpress_logged_in` cookie via `wp_set_current_user()` for any GET or HEAD REST request where the current user is 0, without verifying a REST nonce — silently undoing the nonce-zeroing that WordPress core's `rest_cookie_check_errors()` performs on cookie-authenticated requests that lack an `X-WP-Nonce` header or `_wpnonce` parameter. Combined with WordPress's permissive REST CORS behavior — which echoes the request `Origin` and sets `Access-Control-Allow-Credentials: true` — this allows an unauthenticated attacker to read REST API GET responses as a logged-in victim, exposing role-restricted and private post/page content, victim user profile data via `/wp-json/wp/v2/users/me`, and comments the victim is authorized to see. This requires the attacker to lure a logged-in user into visiting an attacker-controlled page that issues credentialed cross-origin `fetch` requests against the target site's REST API; no nonce or further victim interaction beyond the page visit is needed.

Attack Chain

Reconnaissance

Attacker identifies authentication endpoint and tests for bypass conditions

Initial Access

Attacker exploits CVE-2026-118194 authentication flaw to gain unauthorized access without valid credentials

Discovery

Attacker enumerates accessible resources, users, and configurations

Collection

Attacker exfiltrates sensitive data accessible without proper authorization

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

T1078 Valid Accounts

Initial Access

Authentication bypass grants attacker access as legitimate user

T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism

Privilege Escalation

Bypassed auth may grant elevated or admin-level permissions

Indicators of Compromise

Type	Value	Description
user_agent	`Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; exploit/1.0)`	Generic exploit scanner user agent pattern
url	`/api/vuln-endpoint?payload=<malicious>`	Exploit attempt against application endpoint — monitor access logs for anomalous params

Remediation

1. Apply vendor-supplied security patches immediately. 2. If patches are unavailable, apply recommended mitigations from the vendor advisory. 3. Enable WAF rules or IDS signatures to detect exploitation attempts. 4. Monitor logs for indicators of compromise listed above. 5. Implement network segmentation to limit blast radius if exploitation occurs. 6. Subscribe to vendor security advisories for this product.

Quick Facts

CVE ID	CVE-2026-118194
CVSS Score	6.5
Vector	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`
Published	2026-10-30
Exploited	No
CISA KEV	No
PoC	Not public

References

External Resources

NVD Entry BleepingComputer The Hacker News