CVE-2026-4021: Contest Gallery (WordPress plugin) · Improper Authentication
Affects Contest Gallery (WordPress plugin)Source CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.1 High.
Data as of 29 Oct 2026, 19:04 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 39% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 23 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.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| contest-galleryContest Gallery – Upload & Vote Photos, Media, Sell with PayPal & Stripe | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
Until a patch is available, disabling the Contest Gallery plugin or avoiding the non-default RegMailOptional=1 setting may reduce risk. Monitor vendor channels for updates and apply official patches promptly once released.
Description
The Contest Gallery plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to an authentication bypass leading to admin account takeover in all versions up to, and including, 28.1.5. This is due to the email confirmation handler in `users-registry-check-after-email-or-pin-confirmation.php` using the user's email string in a `WHERE ID = %s` clause instead of the numeric user ID, combined with an unauthenticated key-based login endpoint in `ajax-functions-frontend.php`. When the non-default `RegMailOptional=1` setting is enabled, an attacker can register with a crafted email starting with the target user ID (e.g., `1poc@example.test`), trigger the confirmation flow to overwrite the admin's `user_activation_key` via MySQL integer coercion, and then use the `post_cg1l_login_user_by_key` AJAX action to authenticate as the admin without any credentials. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to take over any WordPress administrator account and gain full site control.
References
- wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/f1b9725b-dee5-44ca-bb33-c6812fb76adc?source=cve (opens in a new tab)
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/contest-gallery/trunk/v10/v10-admin/users/frontend/registry/users-registry-check-after-email-or-pin-confirmation.php (opens in a new tab)
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/contest-gallery/tags/28.1.4/v10/v10-admin/users/frontend/registry/users-registry-check-after-email-or-pin-confirmation.php (opens in a new tab)
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/contest-gallery/trunk/ajax/ajax-functions-frontend.php (opens in a new tab)
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/contest-gallery/tags/28.1.4/ajax/ajax-functions-frontend.php (opens in a new tab)
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?old_path=/contest-gallery/tags/28.1.5&new_path=/contest-gallery/tags/28.1.6 (opens in a new tab)