Description

Missing Authorization vulnerability in WP SYNTEX Polylang polylang allows Retrieve Embedded Sensitive Data.This issue affects Polylang: from n/a through 3.8.7.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "4.3",
  "pubDate": "2026-10-05T12:17:09.740Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-10-05T12:17:09.740Z",
  "executiveSummary": "This vulnerability is classified as a Missing Authorization flaw within the Polylang plugin by WP SYNTEX, impacting all versions from n/a through 3.8.7.\nThe vulnerability enables an unauthenticated or low-privileged attacker to retrieve sensitive information that should be restricted based on authorization policies.\nThe security impact involves unauthorized access to embedded sensitive data, potentially leading to information disclosure of internal site structures, configuration details, or other protected content handled by the plugin.\nThe risk implication is significant as it allows attackers to bypass intended access control mechanisms, facilitating reconnaissance or the extraction of non-public data without requiring high-level administrative credentials.\nExploitation does not appear to require complex preconditions, suggesting that the vulnerability is readily accessible to attackers capable of making standard HTTP requests to the affected application endpoints.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability arises from a failure in the Polylang plugin's access control implementation, where specific API endpoints or internal routines responsible for handling data retrieval do not properly validate the authorization context of the requester.\nIn a secure implementation, functions designed to expose plugin-related data should verify the session identity and the specific capabilities or permissions of the user before processing the request and returning the payload.\nThe root cause is a deficiency in the authorization check mechanism within the component responsible for processing requests related to Polylang functionality. This allows external actors to invoke functions that return sensitive data payloads despite lacking the necessary permissions.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: 1) An attacker identifies an accessible endpoint managed by the Polylang plugin that processes data retrieval. 2) The attacker crafts a request, often a standard GET or POST request, targeting this endpoint. 3) Because the server-side code fails to implement a robust authorization check (e.g., missing calls to current_user_can() or similar permission validation logic), the system processes the request as if it originated from an authorized source. 4) The plugin function executes, retrieves the requested sensitive data, and includes it in the HTTP response body. 5) The attacker receives and parses the response to extract the embedded sensitive information.\nThe exposure of sensitive data via this mechanism can lead to severe post-exploitation consequences. Depending on the data structure managed by Polylang, this may include the disclosure of hidden configuration paths, internal metadata, localized content meant for specific user groups, or other sensitive attributes that assist the attacker in mapping the target environment for further malicious activity.\nThe flaw affects Polylang versions from n/a through 3.8.7, indicating that the authorization oversight persists across multiple iterations of the plugin. The lack of requisite authentication and authorization checks means that the vulnerability is exploitable remotely over the network without requiring valid administrative access."
}