CVE-2026-4297 Missing authorization in Welcome Software Publishing
Authenticated subscribers can escalate privileges to administrator by updating arbitrary WordPress options via an XML-RPC method lacking authorization checks.
- 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-2026-4297?
CVE-2026-4297 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in newscred Welcome Software Publishing, published on 24 Jun 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The Welcome Software Publishing plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary Options Update in all versions up to and including 0.0.31. This is due to a missing capability check in the nc_setOption() function, which is exposed via the nc.setOption XML-RPC method. The function authenticates the user via $wp_xmlrpc_server->login() (verifying credentials are valid) but does not perform any authorization check such as current_user_can('manage_options'). This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to update arbitrary WordPress options via XML-RPC requests. This can be leveraged to change the default_role option to 'administrator' and then register a new administrator account, achieving full privilege escalation and site takeover.
Weakness: CWE-862
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-4297?
How do I fix CVE-2026-4297?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-4297 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-2026-4297 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-4297 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-xgj6-m977-pghj.