CVE-2026-12472

Kirki <= 6.0.11 - Missing Authorization to Unauthenticated Arbitrary Email Content Injection (Mail Relay / Phishing) via 'emailBody' and 'emailSubject' Parameters

2026-07-01 19:59
Niv Kochan

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 6.0.12
Affected Plugin
Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer
Affected Version
<= 6.0.11
CVSS
5.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2026-12472
View all Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-12472 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Kirki WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 6.0.11. It carries a CVSS score of 5.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 6.0.12; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2026, reported by Niv Kochan.

Vulnerability Overview

The Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass in all versions up to, and including, 6.0.11. This is due to the plugin not properly verifying that a user is authorized to perform an action. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to send arbitrary HTML-injected emails — including phishing messages embedding a real, valid WordPress password-reset URL for the targeted user — to any registered user via the site's own mail server, abusing its SPF/DKIM reputation. The attacker-controlled emailSubject parameter is passed to wp_mail() with only sanitize_text_field() applied, while emailBody 'text' items are concatenated raw into the HTML email body with no escaping, and 'chip' items can include the genuine WordPress password-reset link for the targeted account.

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.

CWE-862: Missing Authorization

Kirki <= 6.0.11 carries this weakness at text, and reaching it takes no account at all. 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 Kirki the fix is 6.0.12: builds <= 6.0.11 are affected, anything from 6.0.12 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 6.0.12, 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 6.0.12 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-12472https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/af01964f-018d-4d19-8627-8889877db105https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-12472

Related records

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