# CVE-2026-19598: Auth bypass in Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields

> Unauthenticated attackers can bypass authorization checks in the Pods plugin to escalate privileges to Administrator or reset user passwords, leading to full site takeover.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hmmc-48gm-3645

## What is CVE-2026-19598?

CVE-2026-19598 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in sc0ttkclark Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields, published on 15 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation via Authorization Bypass in all versions up to, and including, 3.3.9. The vulnerability exists because the pods_admin AJAX router funnels every access check — including the method allowlist, nonce verification, login enforcement, and capability gate — through pods_error(), which under the JSON meta-box-loader compatibility path only writes failures to the PHP error log and returns false instead of terminating the request, rendering all guards ineffective.  This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to escalate their privileges to Administrator or overwrite the password of any user account, including the site owner's, enabling complete site takeover, or perform another administrator action.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-19598?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-19598?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-19598 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-19598 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-19598 exists.

Public exploit code:

- https://github.com/0xCyp1337/CVE-2026-19598- (github_poc): https://github.com/0xCyp1337/CVE-2026-19598-
- https://github.com/ksotaria1337/CVE-2026-19598 (github_poc): https://github.com/ksotaria1337/CVE-2026-19598
- Proof of Concept for CVE-2026-19598 affecting Pods <= 3.3.9. (github_poc): https://github.com/DeadExpl0it/CVE-2026-19598-PoC
- Custom Content Types and Fields plugin for WordPress (github_poc): https://github.com/sag-asab/CVE-2026-19598
- Pods <= 3.3.9 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation via pods_admin AJAX Router (nuclei): http/cves/2026/CVE-2026-19598.yaml

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-19598 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-19598 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in sc0ttkclark Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields, published on 15 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-19598 exists.

Affected product: sc0ttkclark Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields. 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-2026-19598/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-19598/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-19598
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-19598
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-19598

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-19598/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.