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Incorrect AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-863

CVE-2026-2126

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
The User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Incorrect Authorization in all versions up to, and including, 20260113. This is due to the `usp_get_submitted_category()` function accepting user-submitted category IDs from the POST body without validating them against the admin-configured allowed categories stored in `usp_options['categories']`. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to assign submitted posts to arbitrary categories, including restricted ones, by crafting a direct POST request with manipulated `user-submitted-category[]` values, bypassing the frontend category restrictions.

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 confidence

The User Submitted Posts WordPress plugin fails to validate user-submitted category IDs against admin-configured allowed categories in the `usp_get_submitted_category()` function. This allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass frontend restrictions by submitting arbitrary category IDs via the `user-submitted-category[]` POST parameter, enabling assignment of posts to restricted categories.

MitigationImplement server-side validation to verify submitted category IDs match the allowed categories stored in `usp_options['categories']` before processing, and update to the latest patched version when available.

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify the User Submitted Posts plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'User Submitted Posts', or check for the plugin directory at /wp-content/plugins/user-submitted-posts/
    Affected if The plugin is installed and active in WordPress
  2. Determine the installed plugin version
    Check the plugin header in the main PHP file (user-submitted-posts.php) for the Version comment, or view the plugin details in the WordPress plugin repository
    Affected if The version is within the affected range and lacks the patched validation logic
  3. Identify if category restrictions are configured
    Navigate to the plugin settings (User Submitted Posts > Settings) and check if the 'Allowed Categories' option is set to restrict frontend category selection
    Affected if Admin has configured allowed categories but the plugin does not validate submitted category IDs against this list
  4. Inspect the usp_get_submitted_category() function
    Locate the function in the plugin PHP files (typically user-submitted-posts.php or includes/usp-functions.php) and examine if it validates submitted category IDs against the allowed categories stored in usp_options['categories']
    Affected if The function processes category IDs from the user-submitted-category[] POST parameter without verifying they are in the admin-approved list
  5. Test the vulnerable parameter
    Submit a POST request to the frontend post submission form with user-submitted-category[] containing a category ID that should be restricted, and verify if the post gets assigned to that category
    Affected if Posts can be assigned to categories outside the admin-configured allowed categories

A user is affected if the plugin is active with category restrictions configured but the code does not validate submitted category IDs against the allowed list in usp_options['categories'].

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement server-side validation to verify submitted category IDs match the allowed categories stored in `usp_options['categories']` before processing, and update to the latest patched version when available.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest version after 20260113 (check WordPress plugin repository for version with security fix)

  1. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate the 'User Submitted Posts' plugin
  4. Check if an update is available and update to the latest version
  5. Alternatively, download the latest version from the WordPress plugin repository and upload via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
  6. Verify the update was successful by checking the plugin version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-2126 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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