CVE-2026-16736 User Registration & Membership < 5.2.6 - Unauthenticated Account Creation While Registration Disabled
Unauthenticated attackers can create accounts in the User Registration & Membership plugin even when registration is disabled by administrators.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-16736?
CVE-2026-16736 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Unknown User Registration & Membership, published on 5 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The User Registration & Membership WordPress plugin before 5.2.6 does not enforce the site's registration-disabled setting when processing registration-form submissions, allowing unauthenticated users to create new accounts even when the administrator has turned off open registration.
Weakness: CWE-284
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-16736?
How do I fix CVE-2026-16736?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-16736 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-2026-16736 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-16736 exists.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-r7cf-cqmf-q6pj.