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Wpforo ForumWordPress extension · Gvectors

CVE-2026-28557

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.4.16 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
wpForo Forum 2.4.14 contains a missing capability check vulnerability that allows authenticated users to trigger bulk wpForo usergroup reassignment via the wpforo_synch_roles AJAX handler. Attackers access the usergroups admin page, accessible to any authenticated user, to obtain a nonce, then remap all wpForo usergroups to arbitrary WordPress roles.

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

wpForo Forum 2.4.14 lacks proper authorization checks on the wpforo_synch_roles AJAX handler. Any authenticated WordPress user can access this endpoint, which normally should be restricted to administrators. Attackers obtain a valid nonce from the publicly accessible usergroups admin page, then send a crafted request to remap all wpForo usergroups to arbitrary WordPress roles, effectively granting themselves elevated forum privileges.

MitigationAdd capability checks (e.g., 'manage_options' or 'wpforo_manage_usergroups' capability) to the wpforo_synch_roles AJAX handler to ensure only administrators can modify usergroup-role mappings. Validate user permissions before processing any role reassignment requests.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Wpforo ForumWordPress extension
Affected:>= 2.4.0, < 2.4.16

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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. Confirm wpForo Forum version
    Check the installed wpForo version in WordPress admin under Plugins, or inspect the version constant in wpforo.php main file
    Affected if Version is >= 2.4.0 and < 2.4.16
  2. Verify wpforo_synch_roles AJAX endpoint exists
    Check if the AJAX action 'wpforo_synch_roles' is registered by inspecting WordPress AJAX hooks or by checking for the action in wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=wpforo_synch_roles
    Affected if The endpoint responds (returns any HTTP response) indicating the handler exists
  3. Test endpoint access with non-administrator user
    Log in as a non-admin WordPress user (e.g., subscriber) and attempt a POST request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=wpforo_synch_roles and a valid nonce from the usergroups page
    Affected if Request is processed without returning a permission denied error (401/403)
  4. Inspect code for capability check on handler
    Examine the wpforo_synch_roles AJAX handler source code (likely in includes/ajax.php or similar) and look for current_user_can() calls with capabilities like 'manage_options' or 'wpforo_manage_usergroups' before processing role mappings
    Affected if No capability check exists, or the check can be bypassed

User is affected if wpForo version is between 2.4.0 and 2.4.15 inclusive AND the wpforo_synch_roles AJAX endpoint processes requests from non-administrator users without proper capability validation.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.4.16 or later
Fixed in 2.4.16
Interim mitigation

Add capability checks (e.g., 'manage_options' or 'wpforo_manage_usergroups' capability) to the wpforo_synch_roles AJAX handler to ensure only administrators can modify usergroup-role mappings. Validate user permissions before processing any role reassignment requests.

Recommended fix High confidence

wpForo Forum version 2.4.16 or later

  1. Backup your WordPress site before making any changes
  2. Navigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Find 'wpForo Forum' in the plugin list
  4. Click 'Update now' if an update is available, or manually upload version 2.4.16 from wordpress.org
  5. Verify the plugin version is 2.4.16 or higher after updating
  6. Test that usergroup synchronization works correctly in the wpForo admin area
Caveat Minor plugin updates rarely introduce breaking changes; review the wpForo changelog for any noted changes

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

Fix this in Wpforo Forum Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2026-28557 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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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