Summary
CVE-2026-78288 is an unauthenticated SQL injection vulnerability in the Beautiful Taxonomy Filters WordPress plugin, affecting all versions up to and including 2.4.6. The flaw allows an attacker with no authentication to inject SQL into database queries executed by the plugin, resulting in a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.3 (Critical).
Technical details
- Root cause: insufficient sanitization/escaping and lack of proper query preparation on a user-supplied parameter processed by the plugin, allowing attacker-controlled input to be appended to an existing SQL query.
- Trigger conditions: an attacker sends a crafted, unauthenticated HTTP request to a WordPress site running the vulnerable plugin version.
- Attack vector: network-based, no privileges or user interaction required (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N).
- Impact: the vulnerability is classified as blind SQL injection, enabling unauthorized extraction of data from the site’s database (high confidentiality impact) with some effect on availability.
Affected software
- Beautiful Taxonomy Filters WordPress plugin, versions up to and including 2.4.6.
Severity
- CVSS v3.1 Base Score: 9.3 (Critical)
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:L
Mitigation and recommended actions
- Immediate: Update the Beautiful Taxonomy Filters plugin to version 2.4.7 or later, which contains the fix for this vulnerability.
- If immediate patching is not possible: consider disabling or removing the plugin until it can be updated, and restrict/monitor inbound requests to the site for anomalous query parameters as an interim network-level control.

