InstaWP Connect Plugin up to 0.1.4.1 on WordPress Settings Tab auto-login get_allowed_role privileges management

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in InstaWP Connect Plugin up to 0.1.4.1. Affected by this issue is the function InstaWP_Setting::get_allowed_role of the file /wp-json/instawp-connect/v2/auto-login of the component Settings Tab. The manipulation leads to privileges management. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2026-109400. The attack may be initiated remotely. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in InstaWP Connect Plugin up to 0.1.4.1. This issue affects the function InstaWP_Setting::get_allowed_role of the file /wp-json/instawp-connect/v2/auto-login of the component Settings Tab. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a privileges management vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-269. The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

The InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 0.1.4.1 This is due to the plugin registering its admin page via `add_management_page()` using a role name returned by `InstaWP_Setting::get_allowed_role()` as the required capability — which WordPress resolves as a real capability match for any user holding that role — combined with `generate_section_field()` rendering the master API key from the `instawp_api_options` option directly as the `value` attribute of a plain-text HTML input with no additional `manage_options` or equivalent capability check. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access and above to read the plaintext master API key, use its SHA-256-derived secret as a bearer token accepted by the plugin's REST API `validate_api_request()`, and call `POST /wp-json/instawp-connect/v2/auto-login` to mint a 30-second single-use login URL that sets an administrator authentication cookie — fully escalating their privileges. Exploitation requires the site to be actively connected to InstaWP and an administrator to have added the attacker's role to the plugin's Sync Tab Access list (`instawp_sync_tab_roles`); notably, the settings tab suppression logic only hides the tab when `administrator` is absent from the list entirely, meaning a mixed configuration retaining administrator alongside a lower role still serves the full settings page — including the API key — to the lower-privileged user.

It is possible to read the advisory at wordfence.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-109400 since 10/12/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 10/16/2026). The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1068 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

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Productinfo

Type

• WordPress Plugin

Vendor

• InstaWP

Name

• Connect Plugin

Version

• 0.1.4.0
• 0.1.4.1

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

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