CVE-2026-39690
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 · uneditedMissing Authorization vulnerability in Paul Bearne Author Avatars List/Block author-avatars allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Author Avatars List/Block: from n/a through <= 2.1.25.
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 confidenceMissing authorization vulnerability in the Author Avatars List/Block WordPress plugin allows unauthenticated or lower-privileged users to access functionality or data that should require higher privileges. The plugin fails to properly validate user capabilities before performing sensitive operations, enabling access control bypass.
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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify if Author Avatars plugin is installedIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Author Avatars List' or 'Author Avatars Block' in the list of active pluginsAffected if The plugin appears in the plugins list and is activated
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Determine the installed plugin versionClick 'View details' next to the Author Avatars plugin in the WordPress plugins admin page, or inspect the main plugin file (usually author-avatars.php or similar) and look for the 'Version:' header commentAffected if You can retrieve a version number from the plugin files
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Check for vulnerable AJAX or admin action handlersExamine the plugin directory (wp-content/plugins/author-avatars or similar) for PHP files containing do_action, add_action with hooks like 'wp_ajax_' or 'admin_init', and verify if these handlers include capability checks using current_user_can() or nonce verificationAffected if AJAX or admin action handlers exist without proper current_user_can() checks or nonce validation before executing sensitive operations
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Identify public-facing endpoints that may lack authorizationReview plugin PHP files for functions that process user input or return user data (such as user profiles, avatar data, or user lists) and check if they include permission checks before returning dataAffected if Public functions return sensitive user data or perform actions without verifying user roles or capabilities first
Your environment is affected if the Author Avatars List/Block plugin is installed and its code lacks proper capability checks (current_user_can) or nonce verification on functions that handle user data or privileged operations.
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 the Author Avatars List/Block plugin to version 2.1.26 or later, which should include proper authorization checks. If unable to update immediately, review and restrict access to affected endpoints via server-side configuration.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-39690 — 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-2026-39690 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