CVE-2026-1492
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to create administrator accounts on WordPress sites using the User Registration & Membership plugin. Attackers can supply any role value during registration, bypassing proper privilege management. All WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of this plugin are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- User Registration & Membership – Custom Registration Form Builder, Custom Login Form, User Profile, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin for WordPress
⚠️ 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.
- 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
Complete site takeover with administrative access, allowing data theft, defacement, malware installation, and backdoor persistence.
Likely Case
Attackers create admin accounts to gain full control of WordPress sites, potentially leading to data breaches and further compromise.
If Mitigated
With proper controls, impact is limited to unauthorized account creation but not privilege escalation.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires only HTTP requests to the registration endpoint with modified role parameters.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 5.1.3 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3469042/user-registration
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins. 3. Find 'User Registration & Membership' plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download version 5.1.3+ from WordPress.org and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable User Registration
allTemporarily disable user registration functionality in WordPress settings
WordPress Admin → Settings → General → Uncheck 'Anyone can register'
Deactivate Plugin
allCompletely disable the vulnerable plugin until patched
WordPress Admin → Plugins → Find 'User Registration & Membership' → Deactivate
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block requests with role parameters in registration forms
- Monitor user creation logs for suspicious admin account creation and implement immediate alerting
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel → Plugins → User Registration & Membership → Version number. If version is 5.1.2 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name='user-registration' --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify plugin version shows 5.1.3 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual user registration events with administrator role assignments
- Multiple registration attempts from single IP addresses
- New admin accounts created outside normal business hours
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to /wp-login.php?action=register with role parameters
- Traffic patterns showing registration attempts followed by immediate admin login
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("action=register" OR "user_registered") AND ("role=administrator" OR "role=admin")