CVE-2026-8719

AI Engine 3.4.9 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via Missing Authorization in MCP OAuth Bearer Token

2026-05-16 14:19
daroo

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.5.0
Affected Plugin
AI Engine – The Chatbot, AI Framework & MCP for WordPress
Affected Version
3.4.9
CVSS
8.8High
Weakness type
CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
CVE
CVE-2026-8719
View all AI Engine – The Chatbot, AI Framework & MCP for WordPress vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-8719 is a high-severity Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the AI Engine WordPress plugin, affecting versions 3.4.9. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 3.5.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed May 2026, reported by daroo.

Vulnerability Overview

The AI Engine – The Chatbot, AI Framework & MCP for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in version 3.4.9. This is due to missing WordPress capability enforcement in the MCP OAuth bearer-token authorization path, where any valid OAuth token causes MCP access to be granted without verifying administrator privileges. This makes it possible for authenticated (Subscriber+) attackers to invoke admin-level MCP tools and escalate privileges to Administrator.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management

Reaching this weakness in AI Engine 3.4.9 takes an account at Subscriber level or above. Improper privilege management means the code lets an account end up with capabilities its role should not have.

It converts a low-privileged account into an administrative one, which makes every other restriction on the site irrelevant. For AI Engine the fix is 3.5.0: builds 3.4.9 are affected, anything from 3.5.0 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.5.0, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

Because it turns on account access, WordSec's login security is the relevant layer: role-based two-factor, captcha and brute-force limits raise the cost of getting the account this needs. None of that substitutes for the fix: AI Engine 3.5.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-8719https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/0593c20d-3422-4817-9639-614254b609dbhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-8719

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C