CVE-2026-77194: CWE-287 Improper Authentication in wpinsider-1 Simple Membership
Description
The Simple Membership plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass leading to Administrator Account Takeover in versions up to, and including, 4.8.0. This is due to improper identity verification during the public registration flow in WordPress Multisite environments, where the plugin binds new Simple Membership records to existing global WordPress users based solely on matching username and email, without requiring password verification or ownership proof, and fails to properly detect Administrator roles on child sites. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to take over Administrator accounts on child sites in a Multisite network by registering a Simple Membership account with a victim's credentials on a site where public registration is enabled, then updating the victim's global WordPress password through the profile edit functionality. The vulnerability was partially patched in version 4.8.1.
CVSS v3.1
Score 5.3medium
Affected software
wpinsider-1
Simple Membership
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-77194 is an authentication bypass vulnerability in the Simple Membership WordPress plugin (up to version 4.8.0) affecting WordPress Multisite setups. The plugin improperly verifies user identity during public registration by associating new membership records with existing global WordPress users solely on matching username and email, without requiring password verification or proof of ownership. Additionally, it fails to correctly detect Administrator roles on child sites. This enables unauthenticated attackers to register a Simple Membership account using a victim's credentials on a site with public registration enabled and subsequently update the victim's global WordPress password via profile editing, resulting in Administrator account takeover on child sites. A partial patch addressing this issue was released in version 4.8.1.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass authentication controls and take over Administrator accounts on child sites within a WordPress Multisite network. This can lead to unauthorized administrative access and potential control over affected child sites. The CVSS score of 5.3 reflects a medium severity with no direct confidentiality or availability impact but with integrity impact due to unauthorized modifications.
Mitigation Recommendations
A partial patch for this vulnerability was introduced in Simple Membership version 4.8.1. Since no official remediation level or patch links are provided, users should upgrade to version 4.8.1 or later if available. Patch status is not yet fully confirmed; users should consult the vendor advisory or official plugin updates for the latest remediation guidance. Until patched, disabling public registration on child sites or restricting membership registration may reduce exposure.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- Wordfence
- Date Reserved
- 2026-08-20T17:07:00.177Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
Threat ID: 6a96b915acd9273b49a380cf
Added to database: 09/01/2026, 11:37:57 UTC
Last enriched: 09/07/2026, 14:29:30 UTC
Last updated: 10/16/2026, 18:48:24 UTC
Views: 104
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