CVE-2026-105976 in Portfolio Filter Gallery Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/10/2026
The Portfolio Filter Gallery WordPress plugin before 2.2.1 does not perform proper authorization checks in a set of AJAX actions, allowing users with at least the Contributor role to read, modify and delete other users' galleries as well as site-wide gallery filters.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/10/2026
The vulnerability identified in Portfolio Filter Gallery versions prior to 2.2.1 represents a critical failure in server-side access control mechanisms within the WordPress plugin ecosystem. This flaw specifically affects AJAX endpoints that handle gallery management operations, including reading, modifying, and deleting content. The core technical deficiency lies in the absence of proper authorization checks during these asynchronous requests. In standard web application security models, particularly those built on frameworks like WordPress, it is imperative that every state-changing or sensitive data-accessing operation verifies not only the authentication status of the user but also their specific permissions relative to the resource being accessed. The plugin fails to validate whether the requesting user has ownership rights over the specific gallery ID or filter configuration targeted by the AJAX call. Consequently, any authenticated user with a Contributor role or higher can bypass intended restrictions and interact with resources belonging to other users or affecting global site settings.
From an operational perspective, this lack of authorization enforcement allows for significant data integrity violations and potential service disruption. An attacker leveraging this vulnerability could enumerate existing galleries by attempting access to various resource identifiers, leading to unauthorized information disclosure. More critically, the ability to modify gallery contents enables malicious actors to inject harmful media or alter visual presentations without permission. The most severe impact arises from the capability to delete other users' galleries and site-wide filters. This action results in permanent data loss for legitimate contributors who rely on these assets for their content strategies. Furthermore, because the vulnerability affects site-wide filter configurations, an attacker could disrupt the overall user experience by removing essential navigation or filtering mechanisms that depend on specific gallery groupings, effectively causing a denial of service to other users and administrators relying on those structures.
This type of flaw is classically categorized under CWE-284, which describes Improper Access Control, specifically highlighting failures in authorization logic where the application does not adequately verify user privileges before executing actions. In terms of offensive security frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK for Enterprise or ICS, this vulnerability aligns with techniques related to Privilege Escalation and Data Manipulation. Specifically, it facilitates unauthorized access to sensitive data through API endpoints (T1059) and allows for the modification of system configurations or user-generated content without proper oversight. The exploitation vector is typically remote via authenticated HTTP requests, making it accessible to any registered user on a vulnerable WordPress installation who can craft specific AJAX payloads targeting unprotected endpoint parameters.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate patching as the primary defense mechanism. Administrators should upgrade Portfolio Filter Gallery to version 2.2.1 or later, where these authorization checks have been implemented and validated by the developers. Until an update is applied, temporary mitigations include restricting access to WordPress admin-ajax.php if feasible through web application firewall rules that limit AJAX execution to specific whitelisted actions known to be secure, although this approach requires careful configuration to avoid breaking legitimate functionality. Additionally, implementing strict role-based access control policies and auditing user permissions can help minimize the attack surface by ensuring only trusted users with elevated privileges interact with gallery management features. Regular security audits of custom plugins are essential to detect similar authorization gaps before they can be exploited in production environments.