# CVE-2026-12272: Lightweight Cookie Notice <= 1.19 - Sensitive Information Exposure via W3TC_DYNAMIC_SECURITY Constant

> Unauthenticated attackers can exploit a hardcoded security key to potentially inject arbitrary PHP code if W3 Total Cache is installed.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-phxf-4j8m-r2jf

## What is CVE-2026-12272?

CVE-2026-12272 is a medium-severity vulnerability in daext Lightweight Cookie Notice – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent, published on 16 Oct 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Lightweight Cookie Notice – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 1.19 This is due to the W3TC_DYNAMIC_SECURITY constant being hardcoded to a publicly known value. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to know the W3 Total Cache mfunc security key, which when W3 Total Cache is installed may allow arbitrary PHP code injection.

Weakness: CWE-330 (Use of Insufficiently Random Values)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-12272?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-12272?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-12272 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-12272 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-12272 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-12272 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-12272 is a medium-severity vulnerability in daext Lightweight Cookie Notice – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent, published on 16 Oct 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-12272 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: daext Lightweight Cookie Notice – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent. 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-2026-12272/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-12272/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-12272
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-12272
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-12272

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-12272/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.