Welcome Software Publishing <= 0.0.31 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary Options Update to Privilege Escalation via 'nc.setOption' XML-RPC Method
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-4297 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | Wordfence |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-06-24 07:16:27 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-06-25 13:26:11 UTC |
| 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. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 8.8 HIGH from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS: 0.004630000 probability, percentile 0.367520000 (date 2026-06-29)
Problem Types: CWE-862 | CWE-862 CWE-862 Missing Authorization
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 8.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | DECLARED | 8.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
LowUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Newscred | Welcome Software Publishing | affected 0.0.31 semver | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/newscred-publishing/tags/0.0.31/newscred.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/newscred-publishing/trunk/newscred.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/newscred-publishing/trunk/newscred.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/newscred-publishing/trunk/newscred.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/newscred-publishing/tags/0.0.31/newscred.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/47e53fd3-4e3f-433a-8e70-3a58c... | [email protected] | www.wordfence.com | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/newscred-publishing/trunk/newscred.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/newscred-publishing/tags/0.0.31/newscred.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/newscred-publishing/tags/0.0.31/newscred.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| 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: Nabil Irawan (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2026-06-23T16:42:18.000Z | Disclosed |
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.