CVE-2026-57782 in Universal Clocks Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 07/13/2026
Missing Authorization vulnerability in PressTigers Universal Clocks universal-clocks allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Universal Clocks: from n/a through <= 1.2.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/13/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical missing authorization flaw in the PressTigers Universal Clocks plugin that enables unauthorized access to administrative functions through improperly configured access control security levels. The issue stems from inadequate validation of user permissions within the plugin's codebase, allowing any authenticated user to escalate their privileges and perform actions typically restricted to administrators or privileged users.
The technical implementation fails to properly verify user roles and capabilities before executing sensitive operations within the universal clocks plugin. This misconfiguration creates a path for privilege escalation attacks where malicious actors can manipulate access control checks to gain unauthorized administrative access to the WordPress site's clock management features. The vulnerability exists across all versions from the initial release through version 1.2.0, indicating a persistent flaw in the plugin's security architecture that was not adequately addressed during development cycles.
From an operational impact perspective, this missing authorization vulnerability poses significant risks to affected WordPress installations. Attackers can exploit this weakness to modify clock configurations, potentially disrupting time-sensitive operations or creating backdoors within the system. The vulnerability directly violates fundamental principles of least privilege and role-based access control that are essential for maintaining secure web applications. According to CWE-284, this represents an improper access control implementation where the application fails to properly enforce authorization checks.
The security implications extend beyond simple unauthorized access as this flaw can serve as a stepping stone for more sophisticated attacks within the WordPress ecosystem. Once attackers establish administrative access through this vulnerability, they can modify plugin settings, potentially introducing additional malicious code or altering system configurations that affect other plugins and themes. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which describes valid accounts usage for persistence and privilege escalation.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including updating to the latest version of the Universal Clocks plugin where this issue has been resolved, conducting thorough security audits of all installed plugins for similar access control flaws, and implementing network segmentation controls that limit administrative access to critical systems. Regular security testing of web applications should include verification of proper authorization mechanisms through automated scanning tools and manual penetration testing to identify similar misconfigurations in other components of the system architecture.