Magic Link <= 2.2.5 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.2.6
- Affected Plugin
- Magic Link – Secure one click passwordless login
- Affected Version
<= 2.2.5- CVSS
- 8.8High
- Weakness type
- CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
- CVE
CVE-2026-121848
At a glance
CVE-2026-121848 is a high-severity Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the Magic Link WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.2.5. 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 Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 2.2.6; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2026, reported by Muni Nitish Kumar Yaddala.
Vulnerability Overview
The Magic Link plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 2.2.5. This is due to insufficient restriction on the capabilities a user may grant themselves. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to elevate their privileges beyond those intended for their role.
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-269: Improper Privilege Management
Reaching this weakness in Magic Link <= 2.2.5 takes an account at Subscriber level or above. 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 Magic Link the fix is 2.2.6: builds <= 2.2.5 are affected, anything from 2.2.6 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.2.6, 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: Magic Link 2.2.6 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