CVE-2026-75796 in AI Engine Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 08/21/2026
The AI Engine WordPress plugin before 3.6.1 does not verify that the requesting user is authorized to act on the targeted account before performing privileged user management operations, allowing users with the Administrator role on a Multisite sub-site to take over any account on the network, including the Network Administrator's.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/21/2026
The vulnerability identified in the AI Engine WordPress plugin prior to version 3.6.1 represents a critical failure in access control mechanisms within a multi-tenant environment. Specifically, the flaw resides in the handling of privileged user management operations where the software fails to verify that the requesting user possesses the necessary authorization for the targeted account or scope of action. This deficiency allows an attacker with relatively low privileges on a specific sub-site to escalate their influence across the entire WordPress Multisite network. The core technical issue is a broken access control vulnerability, formally categorized under CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management and more specifically as CWE-862 Missing Authorization. In a standard single-site installation, this might limit impact to local administrative functions, but within a Multisite architecture, the lack of proper scope validation means that actions intended for one site can inadvertently or maliciously affect users on other sites or even the central network administration layer.
From an operational perspective, the impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for complete account takeover across the entire network. An attacker who has obtained Administrator-level access to any sub-site within a WordPress Multisite installation can exploit this flaw to manipulate user accounts belonging to other sites or the main network administrator. By leveraging the unverified privileged operations, the attacker can modify credentials, alter permissions, or create new administrative users for themselves on any account in the network. This effectively grants them full control over all content and settings across the entire WordPress installation, regardless of where their initial foothold was established. The ability to take over the Network Administrator's account is particularly dangerous as it provides unrestricted access to plugin installations, theme modifications, database configurations, and user data for every site in the network, leading to potential widespread defacement, data exfiltration, or further lateral movement within an organization's infrastructure.
This type of vulnerability aligns with several tactics described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework for enterprise environments. The exploitation primarily falls under Privilege Escalation techniques, specifically those involving abuse of role-based access controls to gain higher-level permissions than initially granted. Furthermore, once account takeover is achieved, it facilitates lateral movement across different sites within the network and can lead to persistence through the creation of backdoor accounts or modification of existing administrative credentials. The lack of proper authorization checks means that standard security boundaries between sub-sites are rendered ineffective, allowing a breach in one area to compromise the integrity of the entire system. This underscores the importance of strict isolation principles in multi-tenant applications and highlights how failures in server-side validation can undermine client-side or role-based restrictions.
To mitigate this vulnerability, immediate action is required by upgrading the AI Engine plugin to version 3.6.1 or later, where these access control checks have been implemented. Administrators running WordPress Multisite environments should prioritize patching all instances of vulnerable plugins, as even a single unpatched sub-site can serve as an entry point for network-wide compromise. In addition to updating software, organizations should enforce the principle of least privilege by ensuring that users are granted only the minimum permissions necessary for their roles and avoiding granting Administrator access unless absolutely required. Implementing Web Application Firewalls with rules targeting known exploitation patterns related to user management endpoints can provide a layer of defense in depth while patches are applied. Regular security audits focusing on authorization logic, particularly in plugins handling sensitive operations like user creation or modification, are essential to prevent similar flaws from being introduced into the application codebase.