CVE-2026-13756
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe WP Grid Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 2.3.3. This is due to missing authorization and meta key validation in the `update()` handler for the `/wp-json/wpgb/v2/metadata` REST endpoint. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to Administrator by updating their own `wp_capabilities` user meta with a crafted nested array payload.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe WP Grid Builder plugin's REST endpoint `/wp-json/wpgb/v2/metadata` lacks proper authorization checks in its `update()` handler, allowing any authenticated user (Subscriber level or higher) to modify arbitrary user meta. Attackers exploit this by sending a crafted nested array payload to update their own `wp_capabilities` meta key, granting themselves Administrator privileges.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify WP Grid Builder plugin is installedIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and locate WP Grid Builder, or check the plugin directory exists at wp-content/plugins/wp-grid-builderAffected if Plugin is installed
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Determine installed WP Grid Builder versionCheck the plugin version in WordPress admin Plugins list, or inspect the plugin header in wp-content/plugins/wp-grid-builder/includes/plugin.php for the Version constantAffected if Version is lower than 2.3.4
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Confirm user registration is enabledIn WordPress admin go to Settings > General > Membership and check 'Anyone can register', or query the database: SELECT option_value FROM wp_options WHERE option_name = 'users_can_register' (table prefix may vary)Affected if User registration is enabled, allowing subscriber-level accounts to exist
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Verify the vulnerable REST endpoint is accessibleSend an authenticated GET request to /wp-json/wpgb/v2/metadata using a subscriber-level account, or inspect the plugin's rest-api.php to confirm the metadata endpoint is registered without additional capability checksAffected if Endpoint responds to authenticated requests from subscriber accounts
Your environment is affected if WP Grid Builder version is below 2.3.4, user registration is enabled, and the vulnerable /wp-json/wpgb/v2/metadata endpoint is accessible to subscriber-level users.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpdate to version 2.3.4 or later which patches the authorization and meta key validation. Until then, disable the WP Grid Builder plugin or restrict access to the `/wp-json/wpgb/v2/` endpoints via server-level rules.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-13756 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-13756 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data