CVE-2026-5336 in DataPress Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 08/07/2026
The DataPress (Dataverse Integration) WordPress plugin before 2.91 does not properly restrict access to its template rendering feature and exposes the viewing user's data to it, allowing users with a role as low as Contributor to disclose sensitive information, such as the session cookies of higher privileged users who view the affected content.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/07/2026
The DataPress WordPress plugin vulnerability represents a critical access control flaw that undermines the security model of WordPress installations. This issue affects versions prior to 2.91 and demonstrates a fundamental failure in privilege enforcement within the plugin's template rendering system. The vulnerability allows users with minimal roles, specifically contributors, to exploit the plugin's functionality and gain unauthorized access to sensitive data that should only be available to administrators or higher-privileged users.
The technical implementation of this flaw stems from inadequate input validation and access restriction mechanisms within the plugin's template processing logic. When users with contributor-level permissions interact with content that utilizes the DataPress integration, the system fails to properly verify user permissions before rendering templates that contain sensitive information. This misconfiguration creates an unauthorized data disclosure channel where session cookies and other privileged data become accessible through the template rendering feature.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it enables attackers to potentially escalate their privileges or conduct session hijacking attacks. Since the exposed data includes session cookies from higher-privileged users who view the affected content, malicious contributors could capture these credentials and impersonate administrators within the WordPress environment. This creates a significant risk for organizations that rely on role-based access controls to protect sensitive administrative functions.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization issues in software systems, and specifically demonstrates weaknesses in access control enforcement. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this represents a privilege escalation technique through insecure template processing and information disclosure, falling under the category of credential access and persistence mechanisms. The flaw exploits the trust model inherent in WordPress plugins where users with contributor roles are not expected to have access to administrative data.
The mitigation strategy for this vulnerability requires immediate plugin updates to version 2.91 or later, which should include proper access control checks before template rendering operations. Organizations should also implement additional monitoring of plugin usage patterns and consider restricting contributor-level permissions on sites where sensitive data processing occurs. Network segmentation and web application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection by monitoring for unusual template rendering requests that may indicate exploitation attempts.
Security teams should conduct comprehensive audits of all installed WordPress plugins to identify similar access control vulnerabilities, particularly in custom-developed plugins or third-party solutions that may not follow established security best practices. Regular security assessments of plugin functionality and user permission boundaries are essential to prevent similar issues from emerging in other components of the WordPress ecosystem. The vulnerability underscores the importance of implementing defense-in-depth strategies where multiple security controls work together to protect against unauthorized access to sensitive data within content management systems.