CVE-2026-14823 in Event Tickets and Registration Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 08/01/2026
The Event Tickets and Registration WordPress plugin before 5.29.0.1 does not properly verify authorization on some of its seating actions, allowing users with contributor-level access and above to overwrite the seating layout, ticket inventory, and attendee seat assignments of events they do not own.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/01/2026
This vulnerability exists within the Event Tickets and Registration WordPress plugin where insufficient authorization checks are implemented for specific seating functionality. The flaw allows users with contributor level permissions or higher to manipulate critical event data including seating arrangements, ticket inventory levels, and attendee seat assignments regardless of whether they are the actual event organizers. This represents a significant access control weakness that violates fundamental security principles of least privilege and proper authorization enforcement. The vulnerability specifically affects versions prior to 5.29.0.1 and demonstrates a clear failure in input validation and permission verification mechanisms within the plugin's backend architecture.
The technical implementation of this issue stems from inadequate capability checks during seating action processing. When users with contributor privileges attempt to modify seating layouts, the system fails to verify whether the requesting user has legitimate ownership or administrative rights over the target event. This authorization gap creates a path for privilege escalation and unauthorized data manipulation. The vulnerability can be exploited through various attack vectors including direct api calls, form submissions, or manipulated ajax requests that target the seating management endpoints. From a cybersecurity perspective, this flaw aligns with common weakness enumerations such as cwe-285 which addresses improper authorization scenarios, and represents a clear violation of access control best practices.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data integrity concerns to encompass potential financial loss, reputational damage, and disruption of event management operations. Attackers could manipulate ticket inventory to create artificial shortages or surcharges, alter seating assignments to disrupt event flow, or overwrite legitimate attendee information. This type of unauthorized modification could lead to significant revenue loss for event organizers who rely on accurate inventory tracking and seat assignment systems. The vulnerability also creates potential for denial of service conditions when attackers deliberately corrupt seating data structures that other users depend upon for event planning and execution.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate patching to version 5.29.0.1 or later where the authorization checks have been properly implemented. Administrators should also implement additional monitoring of unusual activity patterns related to seating modifications and ticket inventory changes. Network segmentation and application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection by limiting direct access to sensitive api endpoints. Regular security audits of wordpress plugins should be conducted to identify similar authorization gaps, and role-based access controls should be reviewed to ensure that users with contributor privileges cannot perform administrative functions without proper authorization. This vulnerability highlights the importance of implementing defense-in-depth strategies and following established cybersecurity frameworks such as those outlined in the mitre att&ck framework where unauthorized privilege escalation represents a critical threat vector that requires comprehensive remediation approaches.