# CVE-2026-9273: Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships <= 4.0.0 - Unauthenticated Password Reset Link Poisoning to Account Takeover

> Unauthenticated attackers can poison password reset links via open redirect to steal reset keys and take over user accounts, including administrators.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j7vx-fw83-2v34

## What is CVE-2026-9273?

CVE-2026-9273 is a critical vulnerability in stellarwp Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships, published on 5 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

The Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships plugin for WordPress (formerly Restrict Content) is vulnerable to password reset link poisoning leading to account takeover in all versions up to, and including, 4.0.0. This is due to the legacy lost-password handler rc_process_lost_password_form() consuming the attacker-controlled rc_redirect POST parameter into two unvalidated sinks in legacy/includes/forms.php: wp_redirect( esc_url( $_POST['rc_redirect'] ) . ... ) at line 243, and add_query_arg( array( 'key' => $key, 'login' => ... ), $_POST['rc_redirect'] ) inside rc_send_password_reset_email() at line 306. The nonce required to reach the handler is broadcast by the public [login_form] shortcode at line 207 to any anonymous visitor. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to issue a password-reset request for any account (including administrators) whose reset email body points the victim at an attacker-controlled host carrying a valid reset key/login. When the victim clicks the link, the reset key leaks to the attacker, who can replay it against the legitimate site to complete account takeover.

Weakness: CWE-640 (Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-9273?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-9273?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-9273 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-9273 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-9273 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-9273 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-9273 is a critical vulnerability in stellarwp Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships, published on 5 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-9273 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: stellarwp Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships. 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-2026-9273/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-9273/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-9273
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-9273
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-9273

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-9273/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.