BuddyPress <= 14.4.0 - Insecure Direct Object Reference to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Private Messages Disclosure
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 14.5.0
- Affected Plugin
- BuddyPress
- Affected Version
<= 14.4.0- CVSS
- 4.3Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
- CVE
CVE-2026-8155
At a glance
CVE-2026-8155 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the BuddyPress WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 14.4.0. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 14.5.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2026, reported by Mustafa Ahmed.
Vulnerability Overview
The BuddyPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in versions up to, and including, 14.4.0. This is due to missing validation on the user_id request parameter in the messages REST endpoint, allowing non-moderator users to specify another user's ID to pass thread access checks. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to read private message threads belonging to other users by supplying an arbitrary user_id parameter in REST API requests.
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.
CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
Reaching this weakness in BuddyPress <= 14.4.0 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 BuddyPress the fix is 14.5.0: builds <= 14.4.0 are affected, anything from 14.5.0 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 14.5.0, 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: BuddyPress 14.5.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in BuddyPress
- 10.0BuddyPress 2.0 - 2.7.3 Arbitrary File Deletion
- 9.8BuddyPress <= 9.0.0 SQL Injection
- 9.8CVE-2012-2109: BuddyPress - 1.5-1.5.4 SQL Injection
CVE-2012-2109 - 8.8BuddyPress <= 9.0.0 Information Disclosure via REST API
- 8.8BuddyPress <= 7.2.1 Insufficient Privilege De-escalation
- 8.8CVE-2021-21389: BuddyPress 5.0.0-7.2.0 Privilege Escalation
CVE-2021-21389 - 8.8BuddyPress <= 2.3.4 Privilege Escalation
- 8.1CVE-2024-10011: BuddyPress <= 14.1.0 Directory Traversal
CVE-2024-10011
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