The Accordion and Accordion Slider WordPress plugin, widely used for creating interactive accordion-style content, contains an authorization bypass vulnerability identified as CVE-2026-0727. This vulnerability stems from improper authorization checks in two key functions: 'wp_aas_save_attachment_data' and 'wp_aas_get_attachment_edit_form'. These functions handle saving and editing attachment metadata, including file paths, titles, captions, alt text, and custom links associated with media files uploaded to the WordPress site. Due to the missing authorization verification, any authenticated user with contributor-level access or higher can exploit this flaw to read and modify metadata for any attachment on the site, regardless of ownership or intended permissions. This bypasses the principle of least privilege and can lead to unauthorized data exposure or manipulation. The vulnerability does not require user interaction beyond authentication and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.4, indicating medium severity. While no public exploits have been reported, the flaw presents a tangible risk to site integrity and confidentiality. The affected versions include all versions up to and including 1.4.5, and no official patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), highlighting a common security design flaw where access control checks are insufficient or absent. Given the plugin’s role in managing media attachments, attackers could alter metadata to mislead users, inject malicious links, or facilitate further attacks such as phishing or social engineering through manipulated content.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk primarily to the confidentiality and integrity of media content on WordPress sites using the Accordion and Accordion Slider plugin. Unauthorized modification of attachment metadata could lead to misinformation, reputational damage, or indirect facilitation of phishing attacks if malicious links are inserted into media descriptions. Organizations relying on WordPress for public-facing websites, intranets, or content management systems may experience content tampering that undermines user trust. Although availability is not directly impacted, the integrity breach can disrupt business operations, especially for sectors where accurate content presentation is critical, such as media, education, and e-commerce. The requirement for contributor-level access limits the attack surface to users with some privileges, but insider threats or compromised contributor accounts could exploit this vulnerability. Additionally, GDPR considerations arise if manipulated metadata leads to unauthorized disclosure of personal or sensitive information embedded in media files. Therefore, European entities must assess their exposure and implement controls to mitigate potential exploitation.

European organizations should immediately audit their WordPress installations to identify the use of the Accordion and Accordion Slider plugin, particularly versions up to 1.4.5. Since no official patch is currently linked, temporary mitigations include restricting contributor-level access strictly to trusted users and reviewing user roles to minimize privilege assignments. Implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with custom rules to monitor and block unauthorized requests targeting the vulnerable functions can reduce exploitation risk. Additionally, organizations should monitor logs for suspicious activity related to attachment metadata modifications. If feasible, disabling or removing the plugin until a patch is released is the safest approach. Regular backups of media and metadata should be maintained to enable recovery from unauthorized changes. Finally, organizations should subscribe to vendor and security advisories for updates and apply patches promptly once available.