CVE-2026-8206

Kirki 6.0.0 - 6.0.6 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation via 'handle_forgot_password'

2026-06-01 15:03
CHOIGYEONGMIN

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 6.0.7
Affected Plugin
Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer
Affected Version
6.0.0 – 6.0.6
CVSS
9.8Critical
Weakness type
CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
CVE
CVE-2026-8206
View all Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-8206 is a critical-severity Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the Kirki WordPress plugin, affecting versions 6.0.0 – 6.0.6. It carries a CVSS score of 9.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 6.0.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2026, reported by CHOIGYEONGMIN.

Vulnerability Overview

The Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation via account takeover in all versions 6.0.0 to 6.0.6. This is due to the plugin accepting an arbitrary email address when a username is used in the password reset request. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to send a password reset link for any user registered on the site to their own email address.

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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management

Reaching this weakness in Kirki 6.0.0 – 6.0.6 takes no account at all. Improper privilege management means the code lets an account end up with capabilities its role should not have.

It converts a low-privileged account into an administrative one, which makes every other restriction on the site irrelevant. For Kirki the fix is 6.0.7: builds 6.0.0 – 6.0.6 are affected, anything from 6.0.7 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 6.0.7, 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: Kirki 6.0.7 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-8206https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3b5630bd-5bce-4226-959f-5e81ae69b799https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-8206

Related records

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