CVE-2026-16736: CWE-284 Improper Access Control in User Registration & Membership
The User Registration & Membership WordPress plugin before 5.2.6 does not enforce the site's registration-disabled setting when processing registration-form submissions, allowing unauthenticated users to create new accounts even when the administrator has turned off open registration.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
CVE-2026-16736 is an improper access control vulnerability (CWE-284) in the User Registration & Membership WordPress plugin. Versions prior to 5.2.6 fail to respect the site's registration-disabled configuration during registration form processing. As a result, unauthenticated attackers can bypass the intended restriction and create new user accounts despite the administrator disabling open registration.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability allows unauthorized account creation on affected WordPress sites, potentially enabling attackers to gain unauthorized access or persist on the site. This undermines the administrator's intent to restrict user registrations and could lead to further abuse depending on the site's configuration and user roles assigned to new accounts.
Mitigation Recommendations
No official fix or patch has been confirmed as of the published date. Users should verify the vendor advisory for updates. Until a patch is available, administrators should consider alternative measures to restrict registrations, such as disabling the plugin or implementing additional access controls. Monitor vendor communications for an official fix.
CVE-2026-16736: CWE-284 Improper Access Control in User Registration & Membership
Description
The User Registration & Membership WordPress plugin before 5.2.6 does not enforce the site's registration-disabled setting when processing registration-form submissions, allowing unauthenticated users to create new accounts even when the administrator has turned off open registration.
Affected software
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-16736 is an improper access control vulnerability (CWE-284) in the User Registration & Membership WordPress plugin. Versions prior to 5.2.6 fail to respect the site's registration-disabled configuration during registration form processing. As a result, unauthenticated attackers can bypass the intended restriction and create new user accounts despite the administrator disabling open registration.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability allows unauthorized account creation on affected WordPress sites, potentially enabling attackers to gain unauthorized access or persist on the site. This undermines the administrator's intent to restrict user registrations and could lead to further abuse depending on the site's configuration and user roles assigned to new accounts.
Mitigation Recommendations
No official fix or patch has been confirmed as of the published date. Users should verify the vendor advisory for updates. Until a patch is available, administrators should consider alternative measures to restrict registrations, such as disabling the plugin or implementing additional access controls. Monitor vendor communications for an official fix.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- WPScan
- Date Reserved
- 2026-07-23T07:49:11.677Z
- Cvss Version
- null
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a72d7aebf8831d5395e82bf
Added to database: 08/05/2026, 06:26:54 UTC
Last enriched: 08/05/2026, 07:01:51 UTC
Last updated: 08/06/2026, 00:41:11 UTC
Views: 3
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