CVE-2026-2494 in ProfileGrid Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 03/07/2026
The ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in all versions up to, and including, 5.9.8.2. This is due to missing nonce validation on the membership request management page (approve and decline actions). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to approve or deny group membership requests via a forged request granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking on a link.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/08/2026
The ProfileGrid plugin for WordPress represents a widely used solution for creating user profiles, groups, and communities within WordPress environments. This plugin facilitates social networking features and user management capabilities that are essential for many WordPress sites. The vulnerability identified in versions up to and including 5.9.8.2 specifically targets the membership request management functionality, which is a critical component for maintaining group integrity and user access control. The plugin's architecture includes administrative interfaces for managing group memberships where users can request to join groups and administrators can approve or decline these requests. This particular vulnerability affects the core security model of the plugin by introducing a path for unauthorized manipulation of group membership decisions.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of nonce validation on the membership request management page, particularly for approve and decline actions. Nonce validation represents a fundamental security mechanism that ensures requests originate from legitimate administrative interfaces and not from maliciously crafted web requests. In this case, the plugin fails to implement proper request verification, leaving the membership management endpoints exposed to cross-site request forgery attacks. The vulnerability occurs because the system does not validate that requests to approve or decline membership are initiated by authenticated administrators through legitimate administrative interfaces. This omission creates a scenario where an attacker can construct malicious requests that bypass normal authorization checks, essentially allowing unauthorized modification of group membership status.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant and potentially severe for WordPress sites using the affected plugin versions. Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this weakness to manipulate group memberships without proper authorization, potentially leading to unauthorized access to restricted group content, disruption of group dynamics, and potential data exposure. The attack vector requires social engineering to trick administrators into clicking malicious links, but once successful, the consequences can be far-reaching. Administrators may inadvertently approve membership requests from malicious actors or deny legitimate users, creating both security and user experience issues. This vulnerability particularly impacts sites that rely heavily on group-based access control and community management features, as it undermines the fundamental trust model of the membership system.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery issues in software systems. This classification indicates that the flaw represents a well-known security weakness that has been documented in numerous security frameworks and standards. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to the privilege escalation and persistence techniques, as attackers can use this weakness to gain unauthorized access to group resources and potentially establish footholds within the community management system. The attack chain typically involves the creation of malicious web pages or links that, when clicked by administrators, execute unauthorized membership management actions. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to patched versions of the plugin, implementing additional security measures such as two-factor authentication, and monitoring for suspicious membership activity.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate patching of the affected plugin to version 5.9.8.3 or later, which contains the necessary nonce validation fixes. Site administrators should also implement comprehensive monitoring of membership request activities to detect unauthorized changes. Additional defensive measures include implementing content security policies, restricting administrative access through network-level controls, and conducting regular security audits of plugin installations. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and request verification in web applications, particularly those handling user access control and community management functions. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and additional authentication mechanisms to provide defense-in-depth against similar vulnerabilities that may exist in other components of their WordPress installations.