CVE-2026-7638

App Builder <= 5.6.1 - Insecure Direct Object Reference to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary User Avatar Modification via 'user_id' Parameter

2026-05-01 15:33
Ren Voza

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 5.7.0
Affected Version
<= 5.6.1
CVSS
5.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE
CVE-2026-7638
View all App Builder – Create Native Android & iOS Apps On The Flight vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-7638 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the App Builder WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 5.6.1. It carries a CVSS score of 5.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 5.7.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed May 2026, reported by Ren Voza.

Vulnerability Overview

The App Builder – Create Native Android & iOS Apps On The Flight plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in all versions up to and including 5.6.1. This is due to missing authorization validation in the `upload_avatar()` function, which accepts an attacker-controlled `user_id` parameter from the POST request body and uses it to update user meta without verifying that the authenticated requester owns or has permission to modify the target account. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to overwrite the profile avatar of any arbitrary user on the site, including administrators, by supplying a target `user_id` in the request body to the `/wp-json/app-builder/v1/upload-avatar` endpoint.

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 privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user.

CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

App Builder <= 5.6.1 carries this weakness at upload_avatar(), and reaching it takes an account at Subscriber level or above. Authorization bypass through a user-controlled key, often called insecure direct object reference, means the application looks up a record by an identifier from the request without checking that the caller owns it.

Changing a number in the request is enough to read or modify other users' records, which on commerce and membership sites means customer data. For App Builder the fix is 5.7.0: builds <= 5.6.1 are affected, anything from 5.7.0 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 5.7.0, 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: App Builder 5.7.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

Related records

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