CVE-2026-1271 – This vulnerability allows authenticated WordPre... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2026-1271?

CVE-2026-1271 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (MEDIUM). This vulnerability allows authenticated WordPress users with Subscriber-level access or higher to change any user's profile picture or cover image, including administrators. It affects the ProfileGrid plugin due to missing authorization checks in AJAX handlers. All WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of this plugin are affected.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability allows authenticated WordPress users with Subscriber-level access or higher to change any user's profile picture or cover image, including administrators. It affects the ProfileGrid plugin due to missing authorization checks in AJAX handlers. All WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of this plugin are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities WordPress plugin

Versions: All versions up to and including 5.9.7.2

Operating Systems: All

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires WordPress installation with ProfileGrid plugin enabled and at least one user account with Subscriber role or higher.

⚠️ Manual Verification Required

This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.

Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).

🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.

Recommended Actions:

Review the CVE details at NVD
Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Attackers could deface administrator profiles, potentially enabling social engineering attacks or damaging site reputation through inappropriate images.

🟠

Likely Case

Malicious users changing other users' profile images to cause confusion, harassment, or minor disruption.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited to image changes only; no data theft, privilege escalation, or code execution possible.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires authenticated access but is straightforward via crafted AJAX requests targeting the vulnerable endpoints.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Versions after 5.9.7.2

Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=3448434%40profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities&new=3448434%40profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find ProfileGrid plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available, or manually update to latest version. 5. Verify plugin version is above 5.9.7.2.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable vulnerable AJAX endpoints

linux

Remove or restrict access to the vulnerable crop.php and coverimg_crop.php files

mv /path/to/wp-content/plugins/profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities/public/partials/crop.php /path/to/wp-content/plugins/profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities/public/partials/crop.php.disabled
mv /path/to/wp-content/plugins/profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities/public/partials/coverimg_crop.php /path/to/wp-content/plugins/profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities/public/partials/coverimg_crop.php.disabled

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Temporarily disable the ProfileGrid plugin via WordPress admin panel
Implement web application firewall rules to block requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with pm_upload_image or pm_upload_cover_image actions

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check ProfileGrid plugin version in WordPress admin under Plugins → Installed Plugins. If version is 5.9.7.2 or lower, you are vulnerable.

Check Version:

grep -r "Version:" /path/to/wp-content/plugins/profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities/profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities.php | head -1

Verify Fix Applied:

After updating, confirm plugin version is above 5.9.7.2 and test that only authorized users can modify their own profile images.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Multiple POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=pm_upload_image or action=pm_upload_cover_image from same user targeting different user IDs
Unusual image upload activity from non-administrator accounts

Network Indicators:

HTTP POST requests containing 'pm_upload_image' or 'pm_upload_cover_image' parameters

SIEM Query:

source="wordpress.log" AND ("pm_upload_image" OR "pm_upload_cover_image") AND status=200

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2026-1271

CVSS v3 Score: 5.3 (MEDIUM)

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

CWE: CWE-639

EPSS Score: 0.01% exploit probability (2.4th percentile)

Published: February 5, 2026

Last Updated: February 5, 2026

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