Create Block <= 2.9.0 - Code Injection to Authenticated (Admin+) PHP Code Injection
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.10.0
- Affected Plugin
- Create Block Theme
- Affected Version
<= 2.9.0- CVSS
- 8.8High
- Weakness type
- CWE-94 · Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
- CVE
CVE-2026-16623
At a glance
CVE-2026-16623 is a high-severity Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') vulnerability in the Create Block Theme WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.9.0. 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 Admin level or above. The issue is fixed in version 2.10.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2026, reported by Pavan Saxena.
Vulnerability Overview
The Create Block plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Code Injection in versions up to, and including, 2.9.0. This is due to use of `edit_theme_options` instead of `edit_themes` in the REST route permission callbacks, allowing sub-site administrators on multisite installations (who hold `edit_theme_options` but not `edit_themes`) to reach filesystem-mutating endpoints. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with admin-level access and above, to inject arbitrary PHP code into theme files by exploiting the overly permissive capability check that granted sub-site administrators on multisite access to theme-file-mutating REST endpoints.
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-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Reaching this weakness in Create Block Theme <= 2.9.0 takes an account at Admin level or above. Code injection means input from a request reaches a language construct that evaluates code, so the attacker's text is executed rather than treated as data.
The injected code runs with the web server's privileges, giving the attacker the same access to the database and filesystem as WordPress itself. For Create Block Theme the fix is 2.10.0: builds <= 2.9.0 are affected, anything from 2.10.0 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.10.0, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Admin access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. Classes like this one can leave something behind, so the staged malware scanner is the second half: it looks for dropped files and modified code rather than for the request that created them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Create Block Theme 2.10.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Create Block Theme
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