Unauthenticated account creation via unchecked registration submissions
Published Aug 5, 2026 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Improper access control in WPEverest User Registration & Membership before 5.2.6 allows remote attackers to create WordPress accounts. The unauthenticated AJAX registration handler accepts a published or draft form identifier and processes submitted credentials without enforcing the WordPress users_can_register option; even a bogus nonce is accepted. A registration form must exist and open registration must be disabled; the resulting account receives only the form-configured role, tested as Subscriber, rather than an attacker-supplied role.
Summary
What happened
Improper access control in WPEverest User Registration & Membership before 5.2.6 allows remote attackers to create WordPress accounts. The unauthenticated AJAX registration handler accepts a published or draft form identifier and processes submitted credentials without enforcing the WordPress users_can_register option; even a bogus nonce is accepted. A registration form must exist and open registration must be disabled; the resulting account receives only the form-configured role, tested as Subscriber, rather than an attacker-supplied role.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-16736
- Published
- Aug 5, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- WPEverest
- Product
- User Registration & Membership
- Classifications
- CWE-284, T1136.001
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 5, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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.
- Affected versionversion=0 <5.2.6
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
- WPScan unauthenticated registration proof of conceptproof of concept · validated
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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