# CVE-2016-10148: Missing authorization in n/a

> Authenticated users can bypass read-access restrictions to view plugin data due to missing capability checks in WordPress.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 18 Jan 2017
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-10148, GHSA-3wwg-h2fr-3v7w, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-10148

## What is CVE-2016-10148?

CVE-2016-10148 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Wordpress Wordpress, published on 18 Jan 2017. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The wp_ajax_update_plugin function in wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php in WordPress before 4.6 makes a get_plugin_data call before checking the update_plugins capability, which allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended read-access restrictions via the plugin parameter to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php, a related issue to CVE-2016-6896.

Weakness: CWE-284 (Improper Access Control), CWE-254

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-10148?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Wordpress Wordpress.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-10148?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-10148 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-10148 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Wordpress Wordpress

- [CVE-2026-63030](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-63030/): WordPress Core Interpretation Conflict (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-87902](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-87902/): WordPress Core Remote File Inclusion (high 8.1, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-60137](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-60137/): WordPress Core SQL Injection (medium 5.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2012-2399](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2399/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2012-2400](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2400/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-10148 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-10148 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Wordpress Wordpress, published on 18 Jan 2017. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-10148 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Wordpress Wordpress. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10148/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10148/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-10148
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10148
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-10148

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10148/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.