{"id":"CVE-2026-16149","title":"The Security Hardener plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Missing Authorization in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.4","summary":"The Security Hardener plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Missing Authorization in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.4. The vulnerability exists because the plugin's user-enumeration protection, which is enabled by default, hooks …","severity":"high","cvss":8.8,"cvssVector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cwe":["CWE-269"],"published":"2026-08-23","updated":"2026-10-12","sourceUpdated":"2026-10-12T16:10:00.220","source":"NVD","sourceUrl":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-16149","references":[{"url":"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L107","label":"security@wordfence.com"},{"url":"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L180","label":"security@wordfence.com"},{"url":"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L204","label":"security@wordfence.com"},{"url":"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L428","label":"security@wordfence.com"},{"url":"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L433","label":"security@wordfence.com"},{"url":"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/security-hardener/tags/2.4.4/security-hardener.php#L439","label":"security@wordfence.com"},{"url":"https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3630896/security-hardener","label":"security@wordfence.com"},{"url":"https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/64f1a71f-e210-4191-bfb4-56f8568180ed?source=cve","label":"security@wordfence.com"}],"tags":["nvd"],"epss":0.00591,"epssPercentile":0.46738,"ingestedAt":"2026-10-12T16:57:59.886Z","slug":"CVE-2026-16149","body":"## Overview\n\nThe Security Hardener plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Missing Authorization in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.4. The vulnerability exists because the plugin's user-enumeration protection, which is enabled by default, hooks the rest_endpoints filter via secure_user_endpoints() and overwrites every registered handler's permission_callback on both the /wp/v2/users and /wp/v2/users/(?P<id>[\\d]+) routes — including POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE handlers — with a bare closure that returns only is_user_logged_in(), completely stripping WordPress Core's original capability checks such as create_users, promote_user, edit_users, and delete_users that WP_REST_Users_Controller normally enforces. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access and above to create new Administrator accounts by sending POST request to /wp/v2/users with administrator role, or to reset an existing Administrator's password by issuing a PUT/POST request to /wp/v2/users/<id>. Because the block_user_enum option defaults to enabled, no special plugin configuration is required — the overwrite is active on every request as soon as the plugin is installed.\n\n## Remediation\n\nRefer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.","depth":"twilight","depthScore":49,"depthScoreParts":{"impact":48.4,"likelihood":0.1,"exploitation":0,"ransomware":0},"changes":[]}