Unauthenticated administrator creation via identity header spoofing
Published Jul 15, 2026 · Updated Jul 15, 2026
Authentication bypass in the Shibboleth WordPress plugin before 2.5.4 allows remote attackers to create administrator accounts. The HTTP header identity mode accepts identity headers as an authenticated session when the anti-spoofing key is empty or absent, allowing automatic provisioning to apply the default administrator role. Exploitation requires non-default header mode, automatic account creation, administrator default mapping, and untrusted headers reaching WordPress.
Summary
What happened
Authentication bypass in the Shibboleth WordPress plugin before 2.5.4 allows remote attackers to create administrator accounts. The HTTP header identity mode accepts identity headers as an authenticated session when the anti-spoofing key is empty or absent, allowing automatic provisioning to apply the default administrator role. Exploitation requires non-default header mode, automatic account creation, administrator default mapping, and untrusted headers reaching WordPress.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-12281
- Published
- Jul 15, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 15, 2026
- Vendor
- Michael McNeill
- Product
- Shibboleth WordPress Plugin
- Classifications
- CWE-287, T1136
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 15, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <2.5.4
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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