CVE-2026-9187
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 · uneditedThe Abandoned Contact Form 7 plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized arbitrary post deletion in versions up to, and including, 2.2. This is due to a missing capability check and missing nonce validation in the action__remove_abandoned() function, which is registered to both the wp_ajax_remove_abandoned and wp_ajax_nopriv_remove_abandoned hooks. The handler takes a user-supplied recover_id parameter from $_POST and passes it directly to wp_delete_post() with the force-delete flag set to true, without verifying that the ID belongs to the plugin's own cf7af_data post type. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to permanently delete arbitrary posts, pages, or other content on the affected site by sending a single admin-ajax.
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 confidenceThe Abandoned Contact Form 7 plugin for WordPress registers an AJAX handler (action__remove_abandoned) to both authenticated and unauthenticated hooks. The handler accepts a recover_id parameter directly from $_POST and passes it to wp_delete_post() with force deletion enabled, without verifying the post belongs to the plugin's cf7af_data post type, validating nonces, or checking user capabilities. This allows any visitor to permanently delete arbitrary posts, pages, or custom post types.
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
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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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Confirm the plugin is installedCheck the WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for a folder named 'abandoned-contact-form-7' or similar, and locate its main PHP file (usually contains plugin header with Version metadata)Affected if The plugin directory and main file exist on the server
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Identify the installed versionOpen the plugin's main PHP file and locate the 'Version:' field in the plugin header comment, or check version in plugin settings if availableAffected if The installed version falls within the affected range (if a range is defined) or is any version prior to the patched release
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Verify the AJAX handler is registeredSearch the plugin source code for 'action__remove_abandoned' to confirm the vulnerable AJAX action hook exists (look for add_action('wp_ajax_action__remove_abandoned'...) and/or add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_action__remove_abandoned'...))Affected if The code shows the handler is hooked to wp_ajax_nopriv, indicating unauthenticated access is possible
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Check if the vulnerable endpoint respondsSend a POST request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with parameter action=action__remove_abandoned and a recover_id value (use a test post ID). A response indicating the action ran (even if it fails on that specific ID) confirms the endpoint exists and is accessibleAffected if The endpoint responds without requiring authentication (no 403 or login redirect)
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Inspect the handler for missing authorizationReview the PHP code of the AJAX handler function that processes action__remove_abandoned. Verify it lacks: (1) nonce verification (check_admin_referer or wp_verify_nonce), (2) capability check (current_user_can), and (3) post type validation (ensuring the post is cf7af_data type)Affected if All three security checks are absent from the handler code
A user is affected if the Abandoned Contact Form 7 plugin is installed with its AJAX endpoint accessible to unauthenticated users and the handler lacks proper authorization checks, allowing arbitrary post deletion.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpdate to the latest version of the plugin once available. Until then, consider disabling the plugin or restricting access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php at the server level to block unauthenticated requests.
Latest version of Abandoned Contact Form 7 plugin (version > 2.2)
- 1. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard
- 2. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- 3. Locate the 'Abandoned Contact Form 7' plugin
- 4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to upgrade to the latest version which contains the security fix
- 5. Alternatively, manually download the latest version from wordpress.org/plugins and upload it via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
- 6. Verify the updated version is above 2.2 after the update completes
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-9187 — 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-2026-9187 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