CVE-2026-92420 in Hydra Booking Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/19/2026
The Hydra Booking — Appointment Scheduling & Booking Calendar WordPress plugin before 1.2.2 does not verify that a booking belongs to the requesting user before modifying or deleting it on two of its booking endpoints, allowing a booking-provider-level user to cancel and permanently delete other providers' bookings on the same site.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/19/2026
The vulnerability identified in Hydra Booking — Appointment Scheduling & Booking Calendar for WordPress prior to version 1.2.2 represents a critical failure in server-side access control mechanisms. Specifically, the plugin fails to implement proper authorization checks when processing requests related to booking modifications or deletions. In secure web application architecture, it is imperative that any operation affecting data resources verifies not only the authentication status of the user but also their explicit ownership or administrative privilege over the specific resource being accessed. This flaw allows for a Broken Access Control scenario where the system trusts client-supplied identifiers without validating them against the authenticated session's permissions.
The technical root cause lies in two distinct endpoints within the plugin that handle booking lifecycle events, specifically cancellation and permanent deletion. When a user with provider-level privileges initiates these actions, the backend logic retrieves the target booking based on an identifier provided in the request payload or URL parameters. Crucially, the application does not cross-reference this identifier against the database records associated with the currently authenticated provider account. Consequently, if an attacker knows or can guess the unique identifier of a booking belonging to another provider on the same WordPress installation, they can successfully execute delete operations without triggering any authorization errors. This lack of object-level permission verification is a classic example of insecure direct object references leading to unauthorized data manipulation.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables significant disruption to business continuity and data integrity for affected website administrators. A malicious actor with provider access can selectively remove appointments scheduled by competitors or colleagues on the same platform. This capability leads directly to financial loss through missed revenue opportunities and reputational damage due to perceived unreliability of the scheduling system. Furthermore, because the deletion is permanent, there may be no straightforward recovery mechanism for lost appointment data unless backups are frequently maintained and tested. The ability to manipulate critical business records undermines trust in the software ecosystem and can cause cascading failures in downstream systems that rely on accurate booking data for notifications or resource allocation.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes Improper Access Control, specifically highlighting the failure to enforce proper restrictions on authenticated users within an application context. It also maps closely to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1078, Valid Accounts, as it exploits legitimate credentials of a lower-privilege user (provider) to perform actions reserved for higher privileges or restricted owners. The attack vector is typically remote and requires no special environmental conditions beyond network access to the WordPress instance.
To mitigate this risk, immediate action must be taken by upgrading the Hydra Booking plugin to version 1.2.2 or later, where these authorization checks have been implemented. For organizations unable to upgrade immediately due to compatibility constraints, a temporary workaround involves restricting provider-level user capabilities through custom code snippets that enforce stricter validation logic before processing delete requests. Additionally, implementing robust logging and monitoring for unusual patterns of booking deletions can help detect potential exploitation attempts in real-time. Regular security audits focusing on access control lists and object reference validations are recommended to prevent similar vulnerabilities across the entire WordPress plugin ecosystem.