CVE-2026-2301 Missing authorization in Post Duplicator
Authenticated contributors can inject arbitrary protected post meta keys via the REST API due to missing authorization checks in the Post Duplicator plugin.
- 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-2026-2301?
CVE-2026-2301 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in metaphorcreations Post Duplicator, published on 25 Feb 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The Post Duplicator plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized arbitrary protected post meta insertion in all versions up to, and including, 3.0.8. This is due to the `duplicate_post()` function in `includes/api.php` using `$wpdb->insert()` directly to the `wp_postmeta` table instead of WordPress's standard `add_post_meta()` function, which would call `is_protected_meta()` to prevent lower-privileged users from setting protected meta keys (those starting with `_`). This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to inject arbitrary protected post meta keys such as `_wp_page_template`, `_wp_attached_file`, and other sensitive meta keys on duplicated posts via the `customMetaData` JSON array parameter in the `/wp-json/post-duplicator/v1/duplicate-post` REST API endpoint.
Weakness: CWE-862
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-2301?
How do I fix CVE-2026-2301?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-2301 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-2026-2301 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-2301 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-wrj5-2cc6-7p8j.