Description

Subscriber Broken Access Control in Push Notification for Post and BuddyPress <= 3.20 versions.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "5.4",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-27T10:16:39.680Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-27T10:16:39.680Z",
  "executiveSummary": "The vulnerability involves a broken access control flaw within the Push Notification for Post and BuddyPress plugin, affecting all versions up to and including 3.20.\nThis vulnerability allows authenticated users with low-level privileges, specifically the 'Subscriber' role, to perform actions that are restricted to higher-privileged administrators.\nThe core issue stems from insufficient server-side authorization checks when processing requests related to push notification settings or management functions.\nAn attacker possessing a standard subscriber account can exploit this flaw to manipulate plugin configurations or trigger restricted notifications, potentially leading to unauthorized data exposure or malicious content distribution.\nThe impact is significant, as it bypasses intended WordPress capability checks, undermining the integrity of site management. Exploitation does not require elevated privileges beyond a basic authenticated account, making this a critical concern for site administrators managing WordPress instances with this plugin installed.\nThe lack of robust permission validation represents a failure in implementing the principle of least privilege within the plugin's architectural framework.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability is rooted in a failure of the Push Notification for Post and BuddyPress plugin to properly validate user capabilities before executing sensitive administrative functions.\nIn WordPress, sensitive administrative operations should be protected using current_user_can() checks to ensure the requesting user has the necessary administrative permissions. The vulnerable component fails to implement these checks within its request-handling logic.\nThe attack flow begins with a registered subscriber intercepting or crafting an HTTP request directed at the plugin's backend endpoints. Because the backend fails to verify that the requester holds an 'administrator' or equivalent capability, the server-side code proceeds to process the request as if it were authorized.\nThis Broken Access Control allows an attacker to interact with internal API endpoints meant for administrative use only. By sending specifically crafted parameters, the attacker can alter push notification settings, manage subscriber lists, or potentially manipulate the payload content of notifications sent to site users.\nSince the vulnerability exists at the application layer, the exploitation is accessible over any network connection where the subscriber can authenticate. No complex social engineering or cross-site scripting (XSS) is required to trigger the underlying flaw, as it is a direct request-based authorization failure.\nPost-exploitation impact includes the ability to force the plugin to send unauthorized push notifications to the site's entire subscriber base. This could be leveraged for phishing campaigns, spreading misinformation, or disrupting legitimate site communications by spamming push notification services.\nThe affected versions (<= 3.20) lack the necessary hardening to prevent unauthorized access from standard WordPress user roles, making any site using these versions vulnerable to privilege escalation at the functional level.\nThe flaw manifests specifically where the plugin processes user-submitted forms or AJAX requests, as these entry points lack the requisite security tokens and capability verification required to maintain the boundary between standard users and site administrators."
}