3.15.2 does not restrict its REST abilities to administrators, accepting a Ninja Forms - Security Vulnerability (CVE-2026-80438)

Q: Am I affected by this vulnerability?

You are affected if your site runs 3.15.2 does not restrict its REST abilities to administrators, accepting a Ninja Forms. Versions below 3.15.2 are vulnerable; that release and later are not.

Q: How do I fix it?

Update 3.15.2 does not restrict its REST abilities to administrators, accepting a Ninja Forms to version 3.15.2 or later. That is the complete fix.

CVE-2026-80438

Vulnerability CVE-2026-80438 PLUGIN 3-15-2-does-not-restrict-its-rest-abilities-to-administrators-accepting-a-ninja-forms MEDIUM

The Ninja Forms WordPress plugin before 3.15.2 does not restrict its REST abilities to administrators, accepting a Ninja Forms WordPress plugin before 3.15.2-specific capability as equivalent to full site administration, which allows any user granted that capability to read Ninja Forms WordPress plugin before 3.15.2 settings and stored form submissions, overwrite the Ninja Forms WordPress plugin before 3.15.2's configuration, and create or modify arbitrary posts and pages. The capability belongs to no default WordPress role and the Ninja Forms WordPress plugin before 3.15.2 never grants it, so an administrator must have assigned it, typically when delegating access to the form builder.

CVE-2026-80438

MEDIUM CVSS 5.9 Published 2026-09-04 Updated 2026-09-04

AI Risk Moderate (51/100) Active Exploit: No strong signal Published Exploit: No public exploit references Priority: P4 Planned

Severity Band MEDIUM

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

Affected Components 5

Reference Links 1

AI Risk Engine Moderate (51/100)

Exploitability Low

Active Exploitation No strong signal

Published Exploit Status No public exploit references

Threat Timeline

2026-09-04 CVE published and first recorded in the threat feed.
2026-09-04 Record updated with latest vulnerability metadata.
2026-09-04 AI technical context refreshed for mitigation and impact guidance.
Now Monitoring for follow-up changes, linked references, and new related CVEs.

AI Context

Machine-generated threat intelligence

AI Updated 10 hours ago

AI enriched 10 hours ago (2026-09-04 18:08 UTC)

Technical Summary

Potential Impact

Severity is MEDIUM (CVSS 5.9). Depending on deployment context, affected components may be exposed to unauthorized actions or data integrity risk.

Exploitability Assessment

Exploitability is assessed as Low based on severity and technical exposure profile.

Primary risk drivers: severity and technical exposure profile

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 51/100 (Moderate, Low) with priority P4 Planned. Prioritize remediation where affected components process customer data, admin sessions, or Internet-exposed workflows.

Affected Products

3.15.2 does not restrict its REST abilities to administrators, accepting a Ninja Forms PLUGIN · 3-15-2-does-not-restrict-its-rest-abilities-to-administrators-accepting-a-ninja-forms Affected: < 3.15.2 Fixed in: 3.15.2

3.15.2 settings and stored form submissions, overwrite the Ninja Forms PLUGIN · 3-15-2-settings-and-stored-form-submissions-overwrite-the-ninja-forms Affected: < 3.15.2 Fixed in: 3.15.2

and create or modify arbitrary posts and pages. The capability belongs to no default WordPress role and the Ninja Forms PLUGIN · and-create-or-modify-arbitrary-posts-and-pages-the-capability-belongs-to-no-default-wordpress-role-and-the-ninja-forms Affected: < 3.15.2 Fixed in: 3.15.2

c capability as equivalent to full site administration, which allows any user granted that capability to read Ninja Forms PLUGIN · c-capability-as-equivalent-to-full-site-administration-which-allows-any-user-granted-that-capability-to-read-ninja-forms Affected: < 3.15.2 Fixed in: 3.15.2

Ninja Forms PLUGIN · ninja-forms Affected: < 3.15.2 Fixed in: 3.15.2

References

https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/befced17-95ff-4809-ad13-f63bc60e5670/

What to do about this

Patch on your next cycle Worth fixing, but not ahead of other work.

Fix it

Update 3.15.2 does not restrict its REST abilities to administrators, accepting a Ninja Forms to 3.15.2 or later.

That is the complete fix. Everything below is what protects you in the meantime.

No Hack Halt control meaningfully contains this one — updating is the remedy. We would rather say so than sell you something that will not help.

Start free

Not sure if you are affected?

Scan your site to see whether it runs 3.15.2 does not restrict its REST abilities to administrators, accepting a Ninja Forms, 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.

Scan my site free See what Hack Halt does

Am I affected by this vulnerability?