Flamingo <= 2.6.2 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Missing Authorization to Unauthorized Tag Information Disclosure via wp.getTerms and ajax-tag-search
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.6.3
- Affected Plugin
- Flamingo
- Affected Version
<= 2.6.2- CVSS
- 5.4Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2026-12853
At a glance
CVE-2026-12853 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Flamingo WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.6.2. It carries a CVSS score of 5.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Contributor level or above. The issue is fixed in version 2.6.3; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2026, reported by jopet.
Vulnerability Overview
The Flamingo plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass in all versions up to, and including, 2.6.2. This is due to the plugin not properly verifying that a user is authorized to perform an action. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to enumerate taxonomy terms including channel names derived from Contact Form 7 form titles that may reveal internal form purposes, department names, or workflow identifiers, as well as submission counts per channel and contact tag names. The plugin's flamingo_map_meta_cap() filter restricts access to Flamingo's admin UI but does not extend to WordPress core APIs such as XML-RPC wp.getTerms and admin-ajax ajax-tag-search.
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-862: Missing Authorization
Flamingo <= 2.6.2 carries this weakness at flamingo_map_meta_cap(), and reaching it takes an account at Contributor level or above. A missing authorization check means a function is reachable by anyone who can reach the endpoint, because the code never asks whether the caller is allowed to perform the action.
Any user who can reach the endpoint gets to run an action reserved for higher-privileged roles, from reading protected data to changing settings or content. For Flamingo the fix is 2.6.3: builds <= 2.6.2 are affected, anything from 2.6.3 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.6.3, 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: Flamingo 2.6.3 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Flamingo
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