Contributor category-setting changes via missing capability check
Published Mar 25, 2026 · Updated Mar 25, 2026
Missing authorization in PPWP – Password Protect Pages 1.9.15 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to alter category protection settings. The ppw_free_update_category_settings AJAX handler accepts request settings and writes the plugin’s category-protection option without checking the caller’s capability. Contributor-level WordPress access is required, and exploitation changes which categories receive password protection without granting broader administrative control.
Summary
What happened
Missing authorization in PPWP – Password Protect Pages 1.9.15 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to alter category protection settings. The ppw_free_update_category_settings AJAX handler accepts request settings and writes the plugin’s category-protection option without checking the caller’s capability. Contributor-level WordPress access is required, and exploitation changes which categories receive password protection without granting broader administrative control.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-32562
- Published
- Mar 25, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 25, 2026
- Vendor
- WP Folio Team
- Product
- PPWP – Password Protect Pages
- Classifications
- CWE-862, T1190
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 25, 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=n/a <=<= 1.9.15 changes=[{"at":"1.9.16","status":"unaffected"}]
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
- Atomic Edge PHP proof of conceptproof of concept · unverified
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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