dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2026-6963

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
The WP Mail Gateway plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access due to a missing capability check on the wmg_save_provider_config AJAX action in all versions up to, and including, 1.8. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to update SMTP settings and redirect mail which can be used for privilege escalation by triggering a password reset email and using that to access and administrator's account.

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 WP Mail Gateway plugin lacks a capability check on the wmg_save_provider_config AJAX action, allowing any authenticated user with Subscriber-level access to modify SMTP settings. Attackers can redirect outgoing mail and capture password reset emails to escalate privileges to administrator.

MitigationUpdate to patched version if available, or add a capability check (e.g., current_user_can('manage_options')) to the wmg_save_provider_config AJAX handler. Audit SMTP settings for unauthorized changes.

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 checks

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

  1. Identify if WP Mail Gateway plugin is installed
    Check the plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for the wp-mail-gateway folder, or use WP-CLI: wp plugin list --name='wp-mail-gateway'
    Affected if The plugin folder exists in the WordPress installation
  2. Determine installed plugin version
    Check plugin header in wp-content/plugins/wp-mail-gateway/ folder for version, or use WP-CLI: wp plugin get wp-mail-gateway --format=json
    Affected if Version is unpatched and older than the fixed release (compare against current stable version)
  3. Verify if wmg_save_provider_config AJAX action exists
    Inspect plugin source code for AJAX handler registration tied to 'wmg_save_provider_config' action in PHP files, or check if the endpoint responds at /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=wmg_save_provider_config
    Affected if The AJAX action handler is registered and responds to requests
  4. Confirm subscriber-level access is possible
    Check WordPress user roles: go to Users > All Users in admin, or query wp_users and wp_usermeta tables to see if any users have the 'subscriber' role
    Affected if At least one user with Subscriber role exists in the system
  5. Test AJAX accessibility from subscriber account
    Log in as a subscriber user and attempt a POST request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=wmg_save_provider_config and test SMTP parameters
    Affected if The request is processed without a capability check error (returns 200 instead of 403/401)

The environment is affected if the WP Mail Gateway plugin is installed with a vulnerable version AND the wmg_save_provider_config AJAX action is accessible to subscriber-level 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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update to patched version if available, or add a capability check (e.g., current_user_can('manage_options')) to the wmg_save_provider_config AJAX handler. Audit SMTP settings for unauthorized changes.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Update WP Mail Gateway plugin to version 1.9 or later (the first version containing the security fix)

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate the WP Mail Gateway plugin
  4. Check the current version number (should be 1.8 or below if vulnerable)
  5. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to install the latest version
  6. Verify the update was successful by confirming the new version number
  7. Test that the plugin functionality remains intact
Caveat Standard minor version upgrades typically have minimal breaking changes; always test in staging first

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
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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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-2026-6963 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data