WPMU DEV Dashboard <= 5.0.0 - Authentication Bypass to Arbitrary Plugin Installation (Remote Code Execution) via Forged WDP_AUTH HMAC on ?wpmudev-hub= Endpoint

Summary

CVECVE-2026-15459
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerWordfence
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-08-06 06:16:30 UTC
Updated2026-08-06 06:16:30 UTC
DescriptionThe WPMU DEV Dashboard plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass in all versions up to, and including, 5.0.0. On sites not yet connected to the WPMU DEV Hub — the default state after installation — the site API key that keys the WDP-AUTH request signature is empty, making the signature verified by validate_hash() trivially forgeable; version 5.0.0 additionally removed the replay check in validate_nonce(), and the remote handler is bound to the public init hook with no capability check. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to invoke privileged Hub actions — including installing and activating a plugin from an attacker-supplied URL (resulting in remote code execution), deleting plugins and themes, upgrading WordPress core, or logging in as an administrator via SSO. Sites connected to a WPMU DEV account, which have a non-empty 64-character API key, are not affected.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 8.1 HIGH from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Problem Types: CWE-287 | CWE-287 CWE-287 Improper Authentication


VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Primary8.1HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
3.1CNADECLARED8.1HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Wpmudev WPMU DEV Dashboard affected 5.0.0 semver Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/75c2b82e-cf1c-4db2-811c-82d05... [email protected] www.wordfence.com
wpmudev.com/project/wpmu-dev-dashboard [email protected] wpmudev.com
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

Vendor Comments And Credit

Discovery Credit

CNA: Austin Ginder (en)

Additional Advisory Data

SourceTimeEvent
CNA2026-08-03T16:13:12.000ZVendor Notified
CNA2026-08-05T16:25:27.000ZDisclosed

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