Account Switcher <= 1.0.2 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Authentication Bypass to Privilege Escalation
| CVE | CVE-2026-6456 |
|---|---|
| CVSS | 8.8 (High) |
| Publicly Published | May 19, 2026 |
| Last Updated | May 20, 2026 |
| Researcher |
Ren Voza
|
Description
The Account Switcher plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.2. This is due to the `rememberLogin` REST API endpoint using a loose comparison (`!=` instead of `!==`) for secret validation at `app/RestAPI.php:111`, combined with no validation that the secret is non-empty. When a target user has never used the "Remember me" feature, their `asSecret` user meta does not exist, causing `get_user_meta()` to return an empty string. An attacker can send an empty `secret` parameter, which passes the comparison (`'' != ''` is `false`), and the endpoint then calls `wp_set_auth_cookie()` for the target user. Additionally, all REST routes use `permission_callback => '__return_true'` with no capability checks. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to switch to any user account including Administrator, ultimately granting themselves full administrative privileges.
Learn more about Authentication Bypass vulnerabilities and how to prevent them.
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Vulnerability Details for Account Switcher
| Software Type | Plugin |
|---|---|
| Software Slug | account-switcher (view on wordpress.org) |
| Patched? | No |
| Remediation | No known patch available. Please review the vulnerability's details in depth and employ mitigations based on your organization's risk tolerance. It may be best to uninstall the affected software and find a replacement. |
| Affected Version |
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