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CWE-288Weakness · CWE-288

CVE-2026-7458

CRITICAL · 9.8 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 →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 Verification by PickPlugins plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in all versions up to, and including, 2.0.46. This is due to the use of a loose PHP comparison operator to validate OTP codes in the "user_verification_form_wrap_process_otpLogin" function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to log in as any user with a verified email address, such as an administrator, by submitting a "true" OTP value.

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 Verification by PickPlugins WordPress plugin uses a loose PHP comparison operator (==) instead of strict comparison (===) when validating OTP codes in the user_verification_form_wrap_process_otpLogin function. In PHP, the string 'true' loosely compared to boolean true evaluates to true, allowing unauthenticated attackers to bypass authentication by submitting 'true' as the OTP value and log in as any user with a verified email address, including administrators.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to version 2.0.47 or later when available, or modify the OTP validation function to use strict comparison (===) and validate against the stored password hash using password_verify instead of loose equality checks.

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 checks

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

  1. Confirm plugin installation and version
    Navigate to WordPress admin > Plugins and locate 'User Verification by PickPlugins', or query the database: SELECT option_value FROM wp_options WHERE option_name = 'user_verification_plugin_version'
    Affected if Plugin is installed and version is unknown, lower than 2.0.47, or cannot be determined
  2. Verify OTP login feature is accessible
    Check if the OTP login form endpoint is publicly accessible. Common paths: /?page=user-verification&action=otpLogin or check plugin settings for 'Enable OTP Login' option in WordPress admin under User Verification settings
    Affected if OTP login feature is enabled and exposed publicly without authentication restrictions
  3. Identify vulnerable OTP validation code
    Locate file: includes/functions/otp_login.php (or similar path containing user_verification_form_wrap_process_otpLogin function). Search for loose comparison operator (==) used on OTP validation variable
    Affected if Code uses == instead of === for OTP comparison, or uses loose equality with user input
  4. Test authentication bypass
    Submit a POST request to the OTP login endpoint with parameter otp_code set to 'true' (string). Example: curl -X POST https://TARGET/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php -d 'action=user_verification_otpLogin&user_id=ANY&otp_code=true'
    Affected if Response indicates successful authentication or grants access without valid OTP
  5. Check recent authentication logs
    Review WordPress access logs or plugin logs for entries where otp_code='true' or similar anomalous OTP values resulting in successful admin logins
    Affected if Logs show successful logins with OTP value 'true' or authentication bypass attempts

User is affected if the plugin is installed with OTP login enabled and the installed version is below 2.0.47, or if authentication bypass is observed with OTP value 'true'

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 the plugin to version 2.0.47 or later when available, or modify the OTP validation function to use strict comparison (===) and validate against the stored password hash using password_verify instead of loose equality checks.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

User Verification by PickPlugins version 2.0.47 or later

  1. Log in to WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate 'User Verification by PickPlugins' plugin
  4. Check if current version is 2.0.46 or earlier
  5. If vulnerable, click 'Update Now' to upgrade to the latest version
  6. Alternatively, manually upload the fixed plugin version from wordpress.org/plugins/user-verification
  7. After update, verify the plugin is running version 2.0.47 or later
  8. Test that OTP login functionality works correctly with valid codes

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2026-7458 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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