CVE-2026-86603 in WP Recipe Maker Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/23/2026
The WP Recipe Maker WordPress plugin before 10.8.2 does not have any authorisation check in one of its AJAX actions, allowing any authenticated user, such as a subscriber, to retrieve the IDs and titles of other users' unpublished lists.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/23/2026
The vulnerability identified in versions of the WP Recipe Maker plugin prior to 10.8.2 represents a critical failure in access control mechanisms within WordPress AJAX handlers. Specifically, the flaw resides in an endpoint designed for retrieving list data, which fails to validate whether the requesting user possesses the necessary permissions to view the targeted content. In standard WordPress architecture, administrative functions and sensitive data retrieval operations are typically protected by capability checks that ensure only users with elevated privileges or specific ownership rights can execute them. However, this particular AJAX action bypasses these essential security gates, treating all authenticated requests as valid regardless of the user's role or relationship to the requested resource. This oversight allows any logged-in user, including those with the lowest privilege level such as subscribers, to interact directly with backend logic intended for higher-privileged users like editors or administrators.
The technical nature of this flaw is classified under CWE-284, Improper Access Control, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078, Valid Accounts, where an attacker leverages legitimate credentials to access resources they are not authorized to view. The absence of authorization checks means that the server processes requests without verifying if the current session holder has permission to read unpublished lists belonging to other users. This is particularly dangerous because it exposes data that was explicitly marked as private or draft status by its creator, assuming that such content would remain inaccessible until publication. By exploiting this misconfiguration, an attacker can enumerate internal structures and gather sensitive information about a website's operational state without needing administrative access or complex exploitation techniques beyond simple HTTP requests using valid credentials.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for both data privacy and potential further attacks. The primary consequence is the unauthorized disclosure of unpublished list IDs and titles associated with other users on the same WordPress installation. While the immediate exposure involves metadata rather than full content, this information can serve as valuable intelligence for attackers conducting reconnaissance. Knowledge of existing lists and their identifiers can facilitate more targeted follow-up attacks, such as attempting to manipulate or delete these items if additional vulnerabilities exist in related endpoints. Furthermore, it violates the principle of least privilege by allowing low-level users to access data that should be strictly confined to content creators and site administrators, thereby compromising the integrity and confidentiality expectations within multi-author WordPress environments.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability focus on immediate patching and enhanced security configurations. The most effective remediation is to upgrade the WP Recipe Maker plugin to version 10.8.2 or later, where the developers have implemented proper authorization checks to ensure that only users with appropriate capabilities can retrieve unpublished list data. In addition to updating software, administrators should enforce strong password policies for all user accounts to reduce the risk of credential compromise, which is a prerequisite for exploiting this flaw since it requires authentication. Implementing Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) configured to detect anomalous AJAX request patterns may also provide an additional layer of defense by blocking unauthorized access attempts before they reach the application logic. Regular security audits and code reviews focusing on permission validation in custom plugins are essential practices to prevent similar access control failures in future developments.