CVE-2026-11977 WP Post Author <= 3.9.1 - Authenticated (Author+) SQL Injection

What is CVE-2026-11977?

CVE-2026-11977 is a medium-severity SQL injection vulnerability in afthemes WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars, published on 5 Aug 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

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.

Weakness: CWE-89

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-11977?

How do I fix CVE-2026-11977?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-11977 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Use parameterised queries everywhere and never build SQL by joining strings. Upgrade affected software first; a web application firewall only buys time. More about SQL injection.

Is CVE-2026-11977 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-11977 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as GHSA-xjmx-223q-52rw.