CVE-2026-12853 Missing authorization in Flamingo
Authenticated contributors can bypass authorization to disclose internal taxonomy terms and submission counts via WordPress core APIs.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-12853?
CVE-2026-12853 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in rocklobsterinc Flamingo, published on 7 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The Flamingo plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass in all versions up to, and including, 2.6.2. This is due to the plugin not properly verifying that a user is authorized to perform an action. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to enumerate taxonomy terms including channel names derived from Contact Form 7 form titles that may reveal internal form purposes, department names, or workflow identifiers, as well as submission counts per channel and contact tag names. The plugin's flamingo_map_meta_cap() filter restricts access to Flamingo's admin UI but does not extend to WordPress core APIs such as XML-RPC wp.getTerms and admin-ajax ajax-tag-search.
Weakness: CWE-862
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-12853?
How do I fix CVE-2026-12853?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-12853 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and check permissions on every request on the server, not only in the interface. More about Missing authorization.
Is CVE-2026-12853 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-12853 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-gc86-q63m-v87m.