CVE-2026-57378 in Advanced Forms Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 07/13/2026
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Phil Kurth Advanced Forms advanced-forms allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Advanced Forms: from n/a through <= 1.9.3.7.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/13/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical missing authorization flaw that undermines the access control mechanisms within the Advanced Forms plugin for WordPress. The security weakness stems from improperly configured access control security levels that fail to properly validate user permissions before granting access to sensitive administrative functions. Attackers can exploit this misconfiguration to bypass intended authorization checks and gain unauthorized access to form management capabilities, data exports, and configuration settings that should only be accessible to privileged users. The vulnerability exists across all versions from the initial release through version 1.9.3.7, indicating a long-standing issue within the plugin's security architecture.
The technical implementation of this flaw demonstrates a failure in the plugin's permission validation logic where user roles and capabilities are not adequately verified before executing administrative operations. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 which specifically addresses improper access control vulnerabilities, where systems fail to properly enforce authorization mechanisms for resources and functions. The incorrect configuration of security levels creates an attack surface where unauthenticated or low-privilege users can potentially manipulate form configurations, export sensitive data, or modify plugin settings without proper authentication. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability directly enables privilege escalation attacks and could allow attackers to completely compromise the WordPress site's form management functionality.
The impact of this missing authorization vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access as it provides attackers with persistent capabilities to manipulate form data, potentially leading to data exfiltration, injection attacks, or further exploitation of the compromised system. The vulnerability creates a persistent backdoor that remains active until the plugin is properly updated or the configuration is corrected. Security frameworks such as ATT&CK's T1078 privilege escalation techniques apply directly to this scenario where attackers leverage misconfigured access controls to gain elevated privileges. Organizations running affected versions face significant risk of data breaches, as compromised forms could contain sensitive user information, payment data, or confidential business information that becomes accessible through this unauthorized access path.
Mitigation strategies must include immediate patching to the latest available version of the Advanced Forms plugin where the authorization checks have been properly implemented and validated. System administrators should also conduct comprehensive audits of all WordPress plugins to identify similar misconfigurations in other security-critical components. Additional protective measures include implementing robust role-based access controls within WordPress, monitoring for unauthorized form modifications, and establishing automated vulnerability scanning processes that can detect such missing authorization flaws in third-party plugins. The remediation process should also involve validating that proper authentication mechanisms are in place for all administrative functions and that user capabilities are correctly enforced at multiple layers of the application architecture.