CVE-2026-25035
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 · uneditedAuthentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel vulnerability in Wasiliy Strecker / ContestGallery developer Contest Gallery contest-gallery allows Authentication Abuse.This issue affects Contest Gallery: from n/a through <= 28.1.2.2.
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 · moderate confidenceThe Contest Gallery WordPress plugin versions up to 28.1.2.2 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability allowing attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms through an alternate path or channel, leading to authentication abuse.
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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 Contest Gallery plugin is installedIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Contest Gallery' in the list. Alternatively, check for the presence of /wp-content/plugins/contest-gallery/ directory.Affected if Contest Gallery plugin is present in the WordPress installation
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Check installed version of Contest GalleryIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and locate the Contest Gallery entry to view its version number. Alternatively, check the main plugin file (usually contest-gallery.php) for the 'Version' header.Affected if Version is 28.1.2.2 or any earlier version (versions up to and including 28.1.2.2 are affected)
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Review admin access logs for unauthorized access attemptsCheck WordPress access logs or security plugins (like Wordfence, Sucuri) for unusual POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or wp-login.php from unexpected IP addresses, particularly those targeting Contest Gallery ajax actions.Affected if Unusual authentication attempts are observed targeting Contest Gallery functionality
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Audit WordPress user accounts for unauthorized admin usersGo to Users in WordPress admin panel and review all user accounts with Administrator role. Check for any unfamiliar accounts or accounts created recently that were not created by legitimate administrators.Affected if Unexpected administrator accounts exist that were not created by known admins
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Check for Contest Gallery-specific endpoints accessible without authenticationReview site for any Contest Gallery public endpoints (typically /contest-gallery/ or ajax actions) and verify they require proper authentication. Test by accessing these endpoints in an incognito browser window without being logged in.Affected if Contest Gallery endpoints are accessible without authentication when they should require it
A user is affected if the Contest Gallery plugin is installed with version 28.1.2.2 or earlier, as these versions contain the authentication bypass vulnerability.
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 Contest Gallery to the latest patched version once available, and review user authentication flows for any unauthorized access paths.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-25035 — 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-2026-25035 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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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.
- 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