CVE-2026-16291 in ProfileGrid Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 08/02/2026
The ProfileGrid WordPress plugin before 5.9.9.8 does not verify that a notification belongs to the requesting user before deleting it, allowing any authenticated user such as a Subscriber to delete other users' notifications by enumerating notification identifiers.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/02/2026
The ProfileGrid WordPress plugin vulnerability represents a critical access control flaw that undermines the security model of notification management within the platform. This issue affects versions prior to 5.9.9.8 and stems from insufficient authorization checks during notification deletion operations. The vulnerability specifically targets the plugin's notification handling mechanism where it fails to validate whether the requesting user has legitimate authority to delete a particular notification. This oversight creates a privilege escalation scenario where any authenticated user regardless of their role can exploit the system to remove notifications belonging to other users.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization within software systems. The flaw operates through a simple but effective mechanism where an attacker can enumerate notification identifiers and subsequently delete them without proper authentication checks. This enumeration process allows malicious actors to systematically identify valid notification IDs that correspond to other users' accounts, effectively enabling unauthorized deletion of sensitive communications. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects the core notification infrastructure that many WordPress sites rely upon for user engagement and system communication.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for both individual users and site administrators. Subscribers or lower-privileged users can potentially disrupt communication flows by deleting notifications intended for other users, leading to missed important updates or system alerts. The vulnerability undermines trust in the notification system and could be exploited to create denial of service conditions where critical notifications are systematically removed. In multi-user environments where ProfileGrid is deployed, this issue could lead to information leakage through the deletion of notifications containing sensitive content or to administrative disruption by removing important system messages.
The exploitation of this vulnerability follows patterns consistent with ATT&CK technique T1566 which involves credential theft and privilege escalation through application weaknesses. Attackers can leverage this flaw to gain unauthorized access to notification data and potentially use it as a stepping stone for further compromise within the WordPress environment. The low complexity required to exploit this vulnerability makes it particularly dangerous as it can be easily automated and scaled across multiple targets. Organizations should consider implementing comprehensive monitoring of notification deletion events to detect potential exploitation attempts.
Mitigation strategies must focus on implementing proper authorization checks at the plugin level, ensuring that all notification operations validate user permissions against the notification's owner. The recommended approach involves modifying the plugin code to include explicit verification that the requesting user matches the notification's intended recipient before permitting deletion actions. Additionally, administrators should immediately upgrade to ProfileGrid version 5.9.9.8 or later where this vulnerability has been patched. Regular security audits of WordPress plugins should be conducted to identify similar authorization flaws that could enable unauthorized access to system resources and user data within the broader WordPress ecosystem.