CVE-2026-16149
HighCVSS 8.8Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk35th percentile - higher than 35% of all known CVEs
Summary
The Security Hardener plugin for WordPress up to version 2.4.4 is vulnerable to Missing Authorization. The default-enabled user-enumeration protection overwrites permission_callback on /wp/v2/users routes, stripping core capability checks. This allows authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access to create Administrator accounts or reset existing Administrator passwords.
Risk Assessment
An attacker with low privileges can gain full control of the WordPress site by creating admin accounts or hijacking existing ones, leading to complete site compromise.
Recommendation
Update the plugin to a patched version immediately and audit user accounts for unauthorized changes.
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Original NVD description (English source)
The Security Hardener plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Missing Authorization in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.4. The vulnerability exists because the plugin's user-enumeration protection, which is enabled by default, hooks the rest_endpoints filter via secure_user_endpoints() and overwrites every registered handler's permission_callback on both the /wp/v2/users and /wp/v2/users/(?P<id>[\d]+) routes — including POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE handlers — with a bare closure that returns only is_user_logged_in(), completely stripping WordPress Core's original capability checks such as create_users, promote_user, edit_users, and delete_users that WP_REST_Users_Controller normally enforces. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access and above to create new Administrator accounts by sending POST request to /wp/v2/users with administrator role, or to reset an existing Administrator's password by issuing a PUT/POST request to /wp/v2/users/<id>. Because the block_user_enum option defaults to enabled, no special plugin configuration is required — the overwrite is active on every request as soon as the plugin is installed.