CVE-2026-13174 in Eventin Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 08/19/2026
The Eventin WordPress plugin before 4.1.21 does not verify ownership or capability before deleting user accounts, allowing users with contributor-level access and above to permanently delete other users' accounts.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/20/2026
The vulnerability identified in the Eventin WordPress plugin prior to version 4.1.21 represents a critical failure in server-side authorization controls, specifically manifesting as an Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) combined with Broken Access Control issues within the user management subsystem. This flaw arises from the application's logic failing to validate whether the authenticated user initiating a deletion request possesses the necessary administrative privileges or ownership rights over the target account. By neglecting these essential checks, the software allows any authenticated user holding contributor-level access and above to execute destructive actions against other user profiles without proper oversight or permission verification.
From a technical perspective, this deficiency aligns with CWE-269, which classifies Improper Privilege Control, as well as CWE-862, Missing Authorization. The core issue lies in the backend API endpoint responsible for processing account deletion requests. Instead of verifying that the requester is an administrator or explicitly owns the target resource, the system relies on insufficient client-side restrictions or assumes a higher level of trust than warranted by the user's role. This allows attackers to craft malicious HTTP requests targeting specific User IDs associated with other accounts in the database. Since WordPress typically distinguishes roles such as subscriber, contributor, author, editor, and administrator, this vulnerability effectively elevates the capabilities of lower-privileged users beyond their intended scope, bypassing standard security boundaries designed to protect user data integrity.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for permanent data loss and disruption of service availability. An attacker with contributor-level access can permanently delete other users' accounts, which results in the irreversible removal of associated profile information, historical event creation records linked to those users, and potentially any custom metadata stored within their profiles. This action not only compromises the confidentiality and integrity of user data but also impacts system availability by removing active participants from the platform. In environments where Eventin is used for managing community events or professional networks, such unauthorized deletions can lead to significant administrative overhead in restoring accounts and may cause reputational damage due to perceived insecurity and lack of trust among users.
This behavior maps directly to several techniques within the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly T1078 Valid Accounts, where an attacker leverages legitimate credentials with low-level privileges to perform unauthorized actions, and T1531 Account Access Removal, which involves deleting or disabling accounts to hinder investigation efforts or disrupt operations. The ability of a contributor to delete other users highlights a significant gap in role-based access control implementation within the plugin's architecture. Such flaws are often exploited during post-exploitation phases where an attacker seeks to escalate privileges further by removing competing user accounts or covering their tracks, although in this specific case, the primary risk is data destruction rather than stealthy persistence.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate software updates and rigorous access control validation. The most effective remediation is upgrading the Eventin plugin to version 4.1.21 or later, where developers have presumably implemented proper authorization checks to ensure that only administrators can delete user accounts. For organizations unable to update immediately due to compatibility constraints, temporary mitigations include restricting contributor-level users from accessing any administrative interfaces or endpoints related to user management through web application firewall rules. Additionally, implementing strict server-side validation for all state-changing operations is essential. Developers should enforce checks such as verifying the current user's role against a whitelist of allowed roles before executing database deletion commands and ensuring that ownership verification occurs when applicable. Regular security audits focusing on authorization logic in WordPress plugins are recommended to prevent similar vulnerabilities from persisting in future releases.