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Page And Post Restriction - Security Vulnerability (CVE-2026-118194)

CVE-2026-118194

The Page and Post Restriction plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass in all versions up to, and including, 1.6.1 This is due to the `papr_restrict_page_post_rest_api()` function, hooked on `rest_pre_dispatch`, re-authenticating the current user from the `wordpress_logged_in` cookie via `wp_set_current_user()` for any GET or HEAD REST request where the current user is 0, without verifying a REST nonce — silently undoing the nonce-zeroing that WordPress core's `rest_cookie_check_errors()` performs on cookie-authenticated requests that lack an `X-WP-Nonce` header or `_wpnonce` parameter. Combined with WordPress's permissive REST CORS behavior — which echoes the request `Origin` and sets `Access-Control-Allow-Credentials: true` — this allows an unauthenticated attacker to read REST API GET responses as a logged-in victim, exposing role-restricted and private post/page content, victim user profile data via `/wp-json/wp/v2/users/me`, and comments the victim is authorized to see. This requires the attacker to lure a logged-in user into visiting an attacker-controlled page that issues credentialed cross-origin `fetch` requests against the target site's REST API; no nonce or further victim interaction beyond the page visit is needed.

CVE-2026-118194

MEDIUM CVSS 6.5 Published 2026-10-30 Updated 2026-10-30
AI Risk Elevated (70/100) Active Exploit: No strong signal Published Exploit: No public exploit references Priority: P3 Priority
Severity Band MEDIUM
CVSS Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Affected Components 1
Reference Links 6
AI Risk Engine Elevated (70/100)
Exploitability High
Active Exploitation No strong signal
Published Exploit Status No public exploit references

Threat Timeline

  1. 2026-10-30 CVE published and first recorded in the threat feed.
  2. 2026-10-30 Record updated with latest vulnerability metadata.
  3. 2026-11-07 AI technical context refreshed for mitigation and impact guidance.
  4. Now Monitoring for follow-up changes, linked references, and new related CVEs.

AI Context

Machine-generated threat intelligence

AI Updated 4 days ago

AI enriched 4 days ago (2026-11-07 20:25 UTC)

Technical Summary

The Page and Post Restriction plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass in all versions up to, and including, 1.6.1 This is due to the `papr_restrict_page_post_rest_api()` function, hooked on `rest_pre_dispatch`, re-authenticating the current user from the `wordpress_logged_in` cookie via `wp_set_current_user()` for any GET or HEAD REST request where the current user is 0, without verifying a REST nonce — silently undoing the nonce-zeroing that WordPress core's `rest_cookie_check_errors()` performs on cookie-authenticated requests that lack an `X-WP-Nonce` header or `_wpnonce` parameter.…

Potential Impact

Severity is MEDIUM (CVSS 6.5). Depending on deployment context, affected components may be exposed to unauthorized actions or data integrity risk.

Exploitability Assessment

Exploitability is assessed as High based on remote code execution potential, low-bar exploit prerequisites.

Primary risk drivers: remote code execution potential, low-bar exploit prerequisites

Mitigation Recommendations

Validate affected product versions, prioritize patching, and monitor references for vendor remediation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, apply compensating controls and limit exposure of vulnerable surfaces.

Detection & Monitoring

Track authentication anomalies, unexpected file writes, and suspicious plugin API activity around affected components.

Business Impact Lens

AI risk score 70/100 (Elevated, High) with priority P3 Priority. Prioritize remediation where affected components process customer data, admin sessions, or Internet-exposed workflows.

Affected Products

Page And Post Restriction PLUGIN · page-and-post-restriction Affected: <= 1.6.1 Fixed version not specified

References

What to do about this

Patch promptly The consequence is significant even where an attacker needs a foothold first.

Fix it

Update Page And Post Restriction to the latest available version.

Where the vendor has not published a fix yet, disable the plugin until they do.

Cannot update today? Administrator multi-factor authentication in Hack Halt Pro blocks this class of attack before WordPress processes the request.

Require a second factor for every administrator account. This is the single highest-value control against credential stuffing and reused passwords, because a valid password alone stops being enough.

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Not sure if you are affected?

Scan your site to see whether it runs Page And Post Restriction, and at which version.

Free, no installation, no account. It reads what your site already publishes, then tells you which plugins carry known vulnerabilities and what to do about each one.

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Am I affected by this vulnerability?

You are affected if your site runs Page And Post Restriction. No account is needed to exploit this, so a public site is reachable by anyone.

How do I fix it?

Update Page And Post Restriction to the latest available version. Where the vendor has not yet published a fix, remove or disable the plugin until they do. Until you can update, Administrator multi-factor authentication in Hack Halt Pro contains this class of attack at the request layer.

What can an attacker actually do?

This is a Authentication Bypass flaw. An attacker who exploits it can sign in as another user, frequently an administrator, without a password.