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Improper AuthenticationWeakness · CWE-287

CVE-2026-8181

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-14
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 Burst Statistics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass in versions 3.4.0 to 3.4.1.1. This is due to incorrect return-value handling in the `is_mainwp_authenticated()` function when validating application passwords from the Authorization header. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers, with knowledge of an administrator username, to impersonate that administrator for the duration of the request by supplying any random Basic Authentication password achieving privilege escalation.

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 Burst Statistics WordPress plugin versions 3.4.0-3.4.1.1 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability in the is_mainwp_authenticated() function. The function incorrectly handles return values when validating application passwords from the Authorization header, allowing unauthenticated attackers with knowledge of an administrator username to authenticate as that user by supplying any arbitrary Basic Authentication password.

MitigationUpdate the Burst Statistics plugin to version 3.4.2 or later. Until an update is available, consider disabling the plugin or implementing additional authentication controls at the web application firewall level.

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. Check if Burst Statistics plugin is installed
    Navigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins > Installed Plugins, or inspect the wp-content/plugins/ directory for the burst-statistics folder. Check the plugin file header or the plugins list for the version number.
    Affected if Plugin is installed and version is 3.4.0, 3.4.1, or 3.4.1.1
  2. Verify the plugin version is within affected range
    If installed, compare the installed version number against the vulnerable range 3.4.0 through 3.4.1.1. The plugin file version can often be found in the main PHP file header comment or in a readme.txt file within the plugin directory.
    Affected if Version falls between 3.4.0 and 3.4.1.1 inclusive, including any minor point releases like 3.4.1.0
  3. Confirm the vulnerable function exists in the codebase
    Locate the Burst Statistics plugin files in wp-content/plugins/burst-statistics/ and search for the function is_mainwp_authenticated() within the PHP files. The vulnerability exists in how this function handles return values from application password validation.
    Affected if The function is_mainwp_authenticated() is present in the installed plugin files and processes the Authorization header for authentication decisions
  4. Check if the plugin is active on the WordPress site
    In the WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins, verify whether Burst Statistics is currently activated. The vulnerability only affects a live, active installation.
    Affected if The plugin is installed, version is in the affected range, and the plugin is currently active

A user is affected if the Burst Statistics plugin is installed, active, and the version is any release between 3.4.0 and 3.4.1.1 inclusive, allowing unauthenticated attackers with an administrator username to bypass authentication via the vulnerable is_mainwp_authenticated() function.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update the Burst Statistics plugin to version 3.4.2 or later. Until an update is available, consider disabling the plugin or implementing additional authentication controls at the web application firewall level.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 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-2026-8181 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
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