Security Hardener <= 2.4.4 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via REST API '/wp/v2/users' permission_callback Overwrite

Wordfence Intelligence   >   Vulnerability Database   >   Security Hardener <= 2.4.4 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via REST API '/wp/v2/users' permission_callback Overwrite
8.8
Improper Privilege Management
CVE CVE-2026-16149
CVSS 8.8 (High)
Publicly Published August 22, 2026
Last Updated August 22, 2026
Researcher zickzick2 - Sejong University of cyber security student

Description

The Security Hardener plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Missing Authorization in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.4. The vulnerability exists because the plugin's user-enumeration protection, which is enabled by default, hooks the rest_endpoints filter via secure_user_endpoints() and overwrites every registered handler's permission_callback on both the /wp/v2/users and /wp/v2/users/(?P<id>[\d]+) routes — including POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE handlers — with a bare closure that returns only is_user_logged_in(), completely stripping WordPress Core's original capability checks such as create_users, promote_user, edit_users, and delete_users that WP_REST_Users_Controller normally enforces. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access and above to create new Administrator accounts by sending POST request to /wp/v2/users with administrator role, or to reset an existing Administrator's password by issuing a PUT/POST request to /wp/v2/users/<id>. Because the block_user_enum option defaults to enabled, no special plugin configuration is required — the overwrite is active on every request as soon as the plugin is installed.

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Vulnerability Details for Security Hardener

Security Hardener

Software Type Plugin
Software Slug security-hardener (view on wordpress.org)
Patched? Yes
Remediation Update to version 2.4.5, or a newer patched version
Affected Version
  • <= 2.4.4
Patched Version
  • 2.4.5

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