VulnerabilityPublished 13 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-22201: wpDiscuz (WordPress plugin) · Use of Less Trusted Source

Affects wpDiscuz (WordPress plugin)Source CVE Database V5

Compare

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.9 Medium : upgrade to 7.6.47 when convenient.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 06:59 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

6.9Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 4% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 7.6.47

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None
Vulnerable system integrity: Low
Vulnerable system availability: None
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed “remotely exploitable” and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files of the vulnerable system to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 13 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 29 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade wpDiscuz (WordPress plugin) to 7.6.47.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
gVectorswpDiscuz	Affected <7.6.47	Fixed in 7.6.47

AI-suggested

Upgrade wpDiscuz to version 7.6.47 or later, where the vulnerability is fixed by properly validating IP addresses and not trusting untrusted HTTP headers.
Implement server-side validation of client IP addresses by relying on trusted sources such as the direct connection IP or validated proxy headers configured at the web server or load balancer level.
Configure web servers or reverse proxies to strip or override untrusted HTTP_CLIENT_IP and HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR headers from incoming requests to prevent spoofing.
Employ additional security controls such as CAPTCHA, behavioral analysis, or user authentication to reduce reliance on IP-based rate limiting alone.
Monitor logs for suspicious patterns of IP spoofing or repeated bypass attempts.
Educate administrators to recognize the limitations of IP-based controls and adopt layered security approaches.
Regularly audit and update WordPress plugins to ensure vulnerabilities are patched promptly.

Description

CVE-2026-22201 is a medium severity IP spoofing vulnerability in the wpDiscuz WordPress plugin before version 7.6.47. The vulnerability arises because the getIP() function trusts untrusted HTTP headers such as HTTP_CLIENT_IP and HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR, allowing attackers to spoof their IP address. This spoofing enables attackers to bypass IP-based rate limiting and ban enforcement mechanisms, potentially facilitating abuse or evasion of security controls. Exploitation requires no authentication or user interaction and can be performed remotely over the network. Although no known exploits are currently in the wild, the vulnerability poses a risk to websites using vulnerable versions of wpDiscuz, especially those relying on IP-based controls for security. Organizations should update wpDiscuz to version 7.6.47 or later and implement additional validation of client IP addresses to mitigate this risk.

Impact

The primary impact of this vulnerability is the circumvention of IP-based security controls such as rate limiting and ban enforcement on websites using vulnerable versions of wpDiscuz. Attackers can spoof IP addresses to evade restrictions, enabling them to perform abusive activities like comment spam, automated attacks, or resource exhaustion without being blocked. This can degrade website performance, increase administrative overhead, and potentially expose the site to further exploitation if attackers use the evasion to conduct reconnaissance or deliver malicious payloads. Organizations relying on IP-based controls for security enforcement will find these controls ineffective against attackers exploiting this flaw. While the vulnerability does not directly lead to remote code execution or data leakage, it facilitates abuse and can be a stepping stone for more severe attacks. The scope includes any WordPress site using wpDiscuz versions prior to 7.6.47, which may be widespread given the plugin's popularity. The lack of authentication or user interaction requirements makes the attack vector broad and accessible to remote attackers.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 20 Mar 2026, 02:33 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats