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CVE-2026-16259 – Authentication Bypass / Admin Account Takeover – Uix UserCenter WordPress Plugin (≤

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Summary

CVE-2026-16259 is a critical improper privilege management vulnerability in the Uix UserCenter WordPress plugin, affecting all versions up to and including 1.0.3. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to forge authentication tokens and take over any account, including administrator accounts, by rewriting the account’s email address and password. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical).

Technical details

  • Root cause: The plugin’s profile-update functionality relies on a hardcoded, globally identical token signing key rather than a per-installation secret, and fails to verify that the account being modified belongs to the requester of the token.
  • Trigger conditions: An attacker only needs to know (or guess) the static signing key used across all installations of the plugin in order to craft a valid token for an arbitrary user ID, including an administrator.
  • Attack vector: Network-based, requiring no authentication and no user interaction (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N).
  • Impact: A forged token can be used to overwrite the email address and password of any account on the site, including administrators, resulting in full account takeover and complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected WordPress site.

Affected software

  • Uix UserCenter WordPress plugin, versions 0 through 1.0.3 (all known releases up to and including 1.0.3)

Severity

  • CVSS v3.1 Base Score: 9.8 (Critical)
  • Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
  • Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate: As of publication, no patched version of Uix UserCenter has been released. Security teams should disable and remove the plugin from all affected WordPress installations until an official fix is available.
  • If no patch is available:
    • Take the plugin offline or restrict access to its profile-update endpoint via a web application firewall (WAF) rule that blocks unauthenticated requests to the vulnerable action.
    • Monitor for unexpected changes to administrator account emails and passwords as an indicator of exploitation.
    • Rotate credentials for all administrator accounts on sites where the plugin was installed, and audit recent account changes for signs of compromise.
    • Subscribe to vendor/plugin repository notifications to apply an official patch immediately once released.

References

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