HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2026-6456
HIGH

CVE-2026-6456

CWE-287Published: May 20, 2026· Updated: May 20, 2026

8.8
CVSS v3.1
EPSS:0.04%probability of exploitation in 30 daysPercentile:12.2th

Official Description

The Account Switcher plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.2. This is due to the `rememberLogin` REST API endpoint using a loose comparison (`!=` instead of `!==`) for secret validation at `app/RestAPI.php:111`, combined with no validation that the secret is non-empty. When a target user has never used the "Remember me" feature, their `asSecret` user meta does not exist, causing `get_user_meta()` to return an empty string. An attacker can send an empty `secret` parameter, which passes the comparison (`'' != ''` is `false`), and the endpoint then calls `wp_set_auth_cookie()` for the target user. Additionally, all REST routes use `permission_callback => '__return_true'` with no capability checks. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to switch to any user account including Administrator, ultimately granting themselves full administrative privileges.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2026-6456 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 8.8.

From a weakness classification perspective (CWE-287): Authentication bypass vulnerabilities allow attackers to access protected resources without valid credentials.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.Low
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Mentioned vendors (from description):
WordPressPHP
CPE data not yet available in NVD for this CVE.

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
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All References (4)

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2026-6456
CVSS Score8.8 / 10
SeverityHIGH
WeaknessCWE-287
CISA KEVNo
EPSS (30d)0.04%
PublishedMay 20, 2026

Related CVEs (CWE-287)

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2026-6456 in threat intel feeds
  • Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.