CVE-2026-1675
📋 TL;DR
The Advanced Country Blocker WordPress plugin has an authorization bypass vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass geolocation blocking by using a predictable default secret key. This affects all WordPress sites using the plugin up to version 2.3.1 where administrators haven't changed the default key. Attackers can access blocked content by appending the default key to URLs.
💻 Affected Systems
- Advanced Country Blocker WordPress Plugin
⚠️ 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
Attackers bypass country-based content restrictions, potentially accessing sensitive content intended for specific geographic regions, violating compliance requirements or exposing restricted materials.
Likely Case
Attackers bypass geolocation blocking to access content that should be restricted to specific countries, undermining the plugin's primary security function.
If Mitigated
If administrators changed the default key, the vulnerability is eliminated and geolocation blocking functions as intended.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires knowledge of the default key value, which is predictable and documented in the plugin code.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.3.2 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/advanced-country-blocker
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update the Advanced Country Blocker plugin to version 2.3.2 or later via WordPress admin panel. 2. Verify the update completed successfully. 3. Consider changing the secret bypass key even after updating for additional security.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Change Secret Bypass Key
allManually change the default secret bypass key in plugin settings to a strong, unpredictable value.
Disable Plugin Temporarily
allDeactivate the Advanced Country Blocker plugin until it can be updated to a patched version.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Change the secret bypass key immediately to a strong, random value in plugin settings.
- Consider using alternative geolocation blocking solutions until the plugin can be updated.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if Advanced Country Blocker plugin is installed and if version is 2.3.1 or earlier. Also check if the secret bypass key in plugin settings matches the default value documented in the plugin code.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name='advanced-country-blocker' --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 2.3.2 or later in WordPress admin panel. Test that geolocation blocking works correctly without the old default key.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual access patterns from blocked countries
- URLs containing the default bypass key parameter in access logs
Network Indicators:
- Traffic from blocked geographic regions that should be filtered
- Requests with predictable bypass parameter in query strings
SIEM Query:
web_access_logs WHERE url CONTAINS 'acb_bypass_key=' AND (country IN blocked_countries_list OR ip_geo.country IN blocked_countries_list)🔗 References
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/advanced-country-blocker/tags/2.3.1/advanced-country-blocking.php#L278
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/advanced-country-blocker/tags/2.3.1/advanced-country-blocking.php#L336
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/advanced-country-blocker/tags/2.3.1/advanced-country-blocking.php#L420
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/30747988-83f9-41f9-9bc5-1f533bc4cb94?source=cve
