CVE-2026-18056

HivePress Authentication <= 1.1.4 - Unauthenticated Authentication Bypass via 'access_token' Parameter to Facebook Authenticator

2026-09-05 14:06
Mutantgun

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 1.1.5
Affected Version
<= 1.1.4
CVSS
7.5High
Weakness type
CWE-287 · Improper Authentication
CVE
CVE-2026-18056
View all HivePress Authentication vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-18056 is a high-severity Improper Authentication vulnerability in the HivePress Authentication WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.1.4. It carries a CVSS score of 7.5 (reachable over the network; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 1.1.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2026, reported by Mutantgun.

Vulnerability Overview

The HivePress Authentication plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via the access_token parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.1.4. This is due to the authenticate_user function's Facebook authenticator resolving third-party identity by forwarding the attacker-supplied access_token to the Facebook Graph API and trusting the returned email and ID verbatim, without performing any application ID or audience validation — specifically, no /debug_token verification and no comparison of the token's app_id against the configured hp_facebook_app_id. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to authenticate as any existing WordPress user, including administrators, whose email address is associated with a Facebook account for which the attacker can obtain any valid access token. Important Note: To exploit the vulnerability, the attacker must obtain the victim's access token.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, and no privileges on the target site. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-287: Improper Authentication

Reaching this weakness in HivePress Authentication <= 1.1.4 takes no account at all. Improper authentication means the mechanism that proves who a caller is can be satisfied without the secret it was supposed to require.

An attacker authenticates as another user — administrators included — without ever knowing a password, so password policies and login rate limits never come into play. For HivePress Authentication the fix is 1.1.5: builds <= 1.1.4 are affected, anything from 1.1.5 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.1.5, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

This one needs no account at all, which puts it outside what login hardening can reach; WordSec's login security narrows the account-level paths around it, and the firewall is what inspects the request itself. None of that substitutes for the fix: HivePress Authentication 1.1.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

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