# CVE-2026-2488: ProfileGrid <= 5.9.8.1 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary Message Deletion

> Authenticated subscribers can delete arbitrary messages belonging to any user due to missing capability checks in the ProfileGrid plugin.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 7 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-237r-7322-3fvf

## What is CVE-2026-2488?

CVE-2026-2488 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in metagauss ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities, published on 7 Mar 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized message deletion due to a missing capability check on the pg_delete_msg() function in all versions up to, and including, 5.9.8.1. This is due to the function not verifying that the requesting user has permission to delete the targeted message. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to delete arbitrary messages belonging to any user by sending a direct request with a valid message ID (mid parameter).

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-2488?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-2488?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-2488 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-2488 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-2488 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-2488 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-2488 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in metagauss ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities, published on 7 Mar 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-2488 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: metagauss ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities. 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-2026-2488/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-2488/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-2488
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-2488
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-2488

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-2488/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
