# CVE-2026-53674: BuddyPress 14.4.0 REGEXP Injection via @Mention Username Resolution

> Attackers can inject regex metacharacters into mention queries to infer usernames or cause denial of service when username compatibility mode is enabled.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA: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:** 9 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 10 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8q4w-j47q-pg4x

## What is CVE-2026-53674?

CVE-2026-53674 is a high-severity SQL injection vulnerability in BuddyPress, published on 9 Jun 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

BuddyPress 14.4.0 contains a regular expression injection vulnerability in the activity mention resolver that, when username compatibility mode is enabled, allows attackers to manipulate a REGEXP database clause by crafting mention names containing regex metacharacters. Attackers can submit @mentions whose metacharacters pass through esc_sql unescaped and are inserted into an unprepared REGEXP query against the users table, enabling boolean-based inference of usernames and denial of service through catastrophic backtracking.

Weakness: CWE-943 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Data Query Logic)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53674?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-53674?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-53674 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-53674 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53674 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-53674 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-53674 is a high-severity SQL injection vulnerability in BuddyPress, published on 9 Jun 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-2026-53674 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: BuddyPress. 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-2026-53674/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53674/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53674
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53674
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-53674

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53674/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.