CVE-2026-16055Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Account takeover via bypassed authentication hooks

Published Aug 5, 2026 · Updated Aug 5, 2026

Improper authentication in Contest Gallery before 30.0.7 allows remote attackers to take over WordPress accounts through its front-end login. The post_cg_login AJAX action checks a password outside the standard WordPress authentication flow and then issues an authentication cookie, bypassing brute-force and two-factor hooks. A published cg_users_login shortcode page exposes the guest nonce and gallery hash; a correct password grants the selected account's session, including Administrator access.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.30%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper authentication in Contest Gallery before 30.0.7 allows remote attackers to take over WordPress accounts through its front-end login. The post_cg_login AJAX action checks a password outside the standard WordPress authentication flow and then issues an authentication cookie, bypassing brute-force and two-factor hooks. A published cg_users_login shortcode page exposes the guest nonce and gallery hash; a correct password grants the selected account's session, including Administrator access.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-16055
Published
Aug 5, 2026
Updated
Aug 5, 2026
Vendor
Wasiliy Strecker / ContestGallery developer
Product
Contest Gallery
Classifications
CWE-287, T1110.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 5, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 5, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <30.0.7

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Wasiliy Strecker / ContestGallery developer · Contest Galleryversion=0 <30.0.7

Published CVSS scores

7.5CISA ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-287Improper Authentication
T1110.001Password Guessing

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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