CVE-2026-12949
CRITICALDescription
The Wishlist Member plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Account Takeover via Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity in versions up to and including 3.34.1. This is due to the wpm_register() function validating the registration cookie only against the GET reg parameter while accepting the POST mergewith and POST wpm_id parameters without verifying that the mergewith user ID references a temporary or incomplete registrant that is bound to the current registration transaction. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to take over any existing WordPress account — including administrator accounts — by supplying an arbitrary user's numeric ID as the mergewith value, which causes wp_update_user() to overwrite the target account's username (additionally written via a direct $wpdb UPDATE), password, email address, first name, and last name with attacker-controlled values, while WordPress password and email change notification emails are explicitly suppressed. When wpm_id references a non-existent membership level, no role key is added to the update payload, causing wp_update_user() to preserve the target user's existing role — including administrator — making full privilege escalation a direct consequence of the takeover.
How to fix
No published remediation has been found for this vulnerability's affected products yet.
Mitigation guidance may be in the linked vendor advisories in the References section below.
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CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 27% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-640 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2019-18818 | Critical | 9.8 | 98% | - | - |
| CVE-2023-7028 | Critical | 10.0 | 95% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2017-7615 | High | 8.8 | 91% | - | - |
| CVE-2024-2862 | Critical | 9.1 | 51% | - | - |
| CVE-2025-6216 | Critical | 9.8 | 35% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2019-19844 | Critical | 9.8 | 35% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2026-12949?
No published fix for CVE-2026-12949 has been found yet. Check the linked vendor advisories for guidance as it becomes available.
Is CVE-2026-12949 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2026-12949 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.34% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 27% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2026-12949?
CVE-2026-12949 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8, rated critical. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
Embed a live status badge for CVE-2026-12949
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-08-14.