CVE-2026-22406 is an authorization bypass vulnerability identified in Mikado-Themes Overton, a WordPress theme product, affecting versions up to and including 1.3. The root cause is an incorrectly configured access control mechanism that relies on a user-controlled key to enforce authorization. This misconfiguration allows an attacker with limited privileges (authenticated user) to manipulate the key and bypass intended access restrictions, thereby gaining unauthorized access to restricted functionalities or data within the theme's scope. The vulnerability does not require user interaction and can be exploited remotely over the network, but it does require the attacker to have some level of authenticated access (low privileges). The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.4, reflecting a medium severity with low attack complexity and no user interaction needed. The impact primarily affects confidentiality and integrity, as unauthorized access may expose sensitive information or allow unauthorized modifications. Availability is not impacted. No public exploits or patches have been reported yet, so organizations must monitor for updates from Mikado-Themes. Given the nature of WordPress themes, the vulnerability likely affects websites using the Overton theme, which may be used by businesses for content presentation and e-commerce. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper access control configuration in web applications and themes.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2026-22406 can be significant depending on the extent to which the Overton theme is deployed on their WordPress sites. Unauthorized access through this vulnerability could lead to exposure of sensitive customer or business data, unauthorized content changes, or potential footholds for further attacks such as privilege escalation or data exfiltration. Organizations in sectors with strict data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR) could face compliance risks and reputational damage if sensitive data is compromised. The medium severity score suggests moderate risk, but the ease of exploitation by authenticated users means insider threats or compromised accounts could leverage this vulnerability effectively. Since availability is not affected, service disruption is unlikely, but confidentiality and integrity breaches could have long-term consequences. European companies relying on WordPress themes for e-commerce, publishing, or corporate websites should prioritize assessment and mitigation to prevent unauthorized access and data leaks.

1. Immediately audit all WordPress sites using the Mikado-Themes Overton theme to identify affected versions (<= 1.3). 2. Restrict user privileges to the minimum necessary, especially for authenticated users, to reduce the risk of exploitation by low-privilege accounts. 3. Implement web application firewalls (WAF) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests attempting to manipulate user-controlled keys or access restricted functionalities. 4. Monitor access logs for unusual patterns indicative of authorization bypass attempts. 5. Until an official patch is released, consider disabling or replacing the Overton theme with a secure alternative. 6. Engage with Mikado-Themes vendor or community to obtain updates or patches as soon as they become available. 7. Conduct regular security reviews of theme and plugin configurations to ensure proper access control settings. 8. Educate site administrators on the risks of authorization bypass and the importance of applying principle of least privilege. 9. Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the risk of compromised credentials being used to exploit this vulnerability.