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CVE-2026-97196 – Authentication Bypass – GiveWP WordPress Plugin ≤ 4.16.9

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Summary

CVE-2026-97196 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in the GiveWP WordPress plugin, caused by improper validation of unsafe equivalence in user-supplied input. The flaw allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to bypass authentication checks, and it carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.1 (Critical). It affects all GiveWP versions up to and including 4.16.9 and is fixed in 4.17.0.

Technical details

  • Root cause: CWE-1289 (Improper Validation of Unsafe Equivalence in Input) — the plugin’s input validation logic performs an unsafe/loose comparison when checking authentication-related values, allowing crafted input to be treated as equivalent to a valid value.
  • Trigger conditions: An attacker sends a crafted request to a GiveWP endpoint that relies on the flawed equivalence check; no prior authentication or user interaction is required.
  • Attack vector: Network-based (AV:N), low attack complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction required.
  • Impact: Successful exploitation allows an attacker to bypass authentication, resulting in high confidentiality and integrity impact (unauthorized access to protected functionality/data); availability is not impacted.

Affected software

  • GiveWP WordPress plugin (package: give) — all versions up to and including 4.16.9

Severity

  • CVSS v3.1 Base Score: 9.1 (Critical)
  • Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate: Upgrade GiveWP to version 4.17.0 or later, where the input validation logic was corrected.
  • If immediate patching is not possible: Restrict or monitor access to donation form and related GiveWP endpoints, review site logs for anomalous authentication activity, and disable the plugin until the update can be applied.

References

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