CVE-2026-75860: CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management in JSON Options
The JSON Options WordPress plugin up to version 0.0.4 contains a vulnerability where an action accessible to unauthenticated users lacks capability checks and nonce verification. This flaw allows attackers to update arbitrary WordPress options, potentially enabling user registration with the default role set to administrator. Exploiting this vulnerability can lead to privilege escalation and full site takeover.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
CVE-2026-75860 describes an improper privilege management vulnerability (CWE-269) in the JSON Options WordPress plugin through version 0.0.4. The plugin exposes an action that executes on every request without verifying user capabilities or using nonce protection. Because this action is accessible to unauthenticated users, attackers can modify WordPress options arbitrarily, including enabling user registration and assigning the administrator role by default. This results in privilege escalation and complete control over the affected WordPress site.
Potential Impact
An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges from an unauthenticated state to administrator level by manipulating WordPress options. This leads to full site takeover, compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the WordPress installation and its data.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is available, restrict access to the plugin's actions by disabling or removing the plugin, or applying custom access controls to prevent unauthenticated users from invoking the vulnerable action.
CVE-2026-75860: CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management in JSON Options
Description
The JSON Options WordPress plugin up to version 0.0.4 contains a vulnerability where an action accessible to unauthenticated users lacks capability checks and nonce verification. This flaw allows attackers to update arbitrary WordPress options, potentially enabling user registration with the default role set to administrator. Exploiting this vulnerability can lead to privilege escalation and full site takeover.
Affected software
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-75860 describes an improper privilege management vulnerability (CWE-269) in the JSON Options WordPress plugin through version 0.0.4. The plugin exposes an action that executes on every request without verifying user capabilities or using nonce protection. Because this action is accessible to unauthenticated users, attackers can modify WordPress options arbitrarily, including enabling user registration and assigning the administrator role by default. This results in privilege escalation and complete control over the affected WordPress site.
Potential Impact
An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges from an unauthenticated state to administrator level by manipulating WordPress options. This leads to full site takeover, compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the WordPress installation and its data.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is available, restrict access to the plugin's actions by disabling or removing the plugin, or applying custom access controls to prevent unauthenticated users from invoking the vulnerable action.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- WPScan
- Date Reserved
- 2026-08-18T11:04:53.448Z
- Cvss Version
- null
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a8699b9acd9273b49344188
Added to database: 08/20/2026, 06:07:53 UTC
Last enriched: 08/20/2026, 06:24:05 UTC
Last updated: 08/20/2026, 06:24:05 UTC
Views: 6
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