CVE-2026-16295 in Clearfy Cache Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 08/04/2026
The Clearfy Cache WordPress plugin before 2.4.3 does not perform a capability check in one of its admin-page dispatch paths, allowing any authenticated user such as a Subscriber to render admin-only settings pages and disclose their contents, including administrative nonces, while the canonical page URL correctly restricts access.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/04/2026
The Clearfy Cache WordPress plugin vulnerability represents a critical authorization flaw that undermines the security model of WordPress sites relying on this plugin. This issue affects versions prior to 2.4.3 and demonstrates a classic privilege escalation weakness where authenticated users can bypass intended access controls. The vulnerability exists within the plugin's admin-page dispatch mechanism, specifically in one of its administrative pathways where proper capability checks are absent. While the canonical page URL correctly enforces access restrictions, this particular dispatch path fails to validate user permissions, creating an exploitable gap in the plugin's security architecture.
The technical flaw manifests as a missing capability verification within the plugin's internal routing system. When authenticated users navigate to specific admin pages through this vulnerable dispatch path, they can access administrative settings that should only be visible to administrators or users with appropriate privileges. This includes exposure of administrative nonces which are critical security tokens used to prevent cross-site request forgery attacks and maintain session integrity. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it allows lower-privileged users to obtain sensitive information that could facilitate further attacks within the WordPress environment, including potential exploitation of other vulnerabilities or social engineering attempts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, creating potential attack vectors for malicious actors who may have gained access through compromised user accounts. Subscribers or other low-privilege users can leverage this flaw to discover administrative nonces, which could then be used in crafting sophisticated attacks against the WordPress installation. The exposure of these security tokens undermines the integrity of WordPress's permission system and could enable attackers to perform administrative actions that should remain restricted. Furthermore, this vulnerability demonstrates poor security implementation practices within the plugin, suggesting additional weaknesses may exist within the codebase.
Organizations using affected versions of Clearfy Cache should immediately implement mitigation strategies including updating to version 2.4.3 or later where the capability check has been properly implemented. System administrators should also conduct thorough audits of all installed plugins to identify similar privilege escalation vulnerabilities that may exist in other third-party components. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285 which addresses improper authorization in software systems, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege that is fundamental to secure system design. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques that attackers commonly use to gain elevated access within compromised environments, making it particularly dangerous when combined with other exploitation methods that may be available to threat actors.