CVE-2026-104682 in Envira Gallery Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/11/2026
The Envira Gallery WordPress plugin before 1.16.2 does not correctly check authorization on its gallery-conversion feature, verifying that the requester can edit an arbitrary post they name rather than that they are allowed to create the Envira Gallery WordPress plugin before 1.16.2's own gallery content, allowing users with contributor-level access to create and publish gallery posts that the Envira Gallery WordPress plugin before 1.16.2's settings otherwise withhold from them.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/11/2026
The vulnerability identified in Envira Gallery versions prior to 1.16.2 represents a critical authorization flaw within the plugin’s gallery conversion functionality, specifically categorized under CWE-862 Missing Authorization and CWE-20 Improper Input Validation. This security defect arises from an insufficient verification mechanism that fails to distinguish between permissions for editing existing content and permissions for creating new administrative or specialized content types. The core technical issue lies in how the backend logic processes requests related to gallery conversion, where it erroneously validates access rights based on a generic post ID provided by the user rather than checking if the authenticated user possesses the specific capabilities required to interact with Envira Gallery’s proprietary data structures and settings.
From an operational perspective, this flaw allows attackers with low-privilege accounts, such as those assigned the Contributor role in WordPress, to escalate their privileges effectively without needing higher-level access like Editor or Administrator. By manipulating the parameters sent during a gallery conversion request, these users can bypass standard restrictions that normally prevent Contributors from creating galleries or modifying plugin-specific settings. This misconfiguration enables them to create and publish new Envira Gallery posts, which are typically restricted to more privileged roles due to their potential impact on site appearance and functionality. The attacker does not need to edit an arbitrary post as the validation logic suggests; instead, they exploit the lack of strict capability checks for the specific action being performed, effectively tricking the application into granting elevated permissions based on a false premise of ownership or editing rights over unrelated content.
The impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, potentially leading to further exploitation vectors such as Cross-Site Scripting if the gallery creation process allows injection of malicious scripts through gallery metadata or configuration fields that are not properly sanitized after being created by an elevated-privilege action. Furthermore, it compromises the integrity of the WordPress installation’s role-based access control model, undermining trust in user permissions and potentially allowing for defacement or data manipulation depending on what features become accessible once a gallery is successfully created under these false privileges. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts, where attackers leverage legitimate credentials to gain unauthorized access to resources by exploiting misconfigurations rather than stealing high-privilege accounts directly.
To mitigate this risk, immediate action must be taken to upgrade the Envira Gallery plugin to version 1.16.2 or later, which addresses these authorization checks and ensures that capability verification is strictly tied to the specific actions being performed on gallery-specific entities rather than generic post editing rights. Administrators should also audit user roles within their WordPress installations to ensure that Contributors do not have unnecessary capabilities that could be exploited in conjunction with other vulnerabilities. Implementing a Web Application Firewall can provide an additional layer of defense by monitoring for anomalous patterns in request parameters related to the gallery conversion endpoint, although patching remains the primary and most effective remediation strategy given the fundamental nature of the authorization flaw.