CVE-2026-11977
MediumCVSS 6.5Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk16th percentile - higher than 16% of all known CVEs
Summary
The WP Post Author plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to generic SQL Injection via the 'wpma_metabox_authors_list' parameter in all versions up to and including 3.9.1. Authenticated attackers with author-level access can append additional SQL queries to extract sensitive information from the database. Exploitation is a two-step chain involving saving a crafted guest-author token and triggering the injection when an admin loads the post list screen.
Risk Assessment
The risk involves potential theft of sensitive data from the WordPress database, such as passwords, user data, or other confidential information. The attack requires an author-level account but can be executed without the admin's knowledge.
Recommendation
Immediately update the WP Post Author plugin to the latest patched version. Additionally, consider restricting author permissions and regularly audit logs for unusual SQL queries.
Other vulnerabilities in WP Post Author
See all- CVE-2026-108125High
Improper neutralization of special elements used in an SQL command ('SQL injection') vulnerability in wp-post-author. This issue affects wp-post-author version 4.0.0 prior to 4.1.0.
- CVE-2026-108124Medium
The wp-post-author plugin contains an SQL injection vulnerability caused by improper neutralization of special elements in SQL commands. This issue affects versions before 4.1.0.
- CVE-2026-42708High
The WP Post Author plugin by AF themes contains a blind SQL injection vulnerability. The issue affects versions up to and including 4.0.0.
- CVE-2026-57643High
The WP Post Author plugin version 3.9.1 and earlier contains a SQL injection vulnerability in the Contributor function. This allows an attacker to manipulate database queries.
Original NVD description (English source)
The WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to generic SQL Injection via the 'wpma_metabox_authors_list' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 3.9.1 due to insufficient escaping on the user supplied parameter and lack of sufficient preparation on the existing SQL query. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with author-level access and above, to append additional SQL queries into already existing queries that can be used to extract sensitive information from the database. Exploitation is a two-step chain: an attacker first saves a crafted guest-author token via the wpma_metabox_authors_list parameter during post creation or editing, then triggers the injection when any admin user loads the post list screen at /wp-admin/edit.php, causing the injected SQL result to be rendered in the Authors column.
Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS