MailOptin <= 1.2.78.6 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation to 'form_custom_field_mappings' Parameter
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.2.78.7
- Affected Plugin
- MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc.
- Affected Version
<= 1.2.78.6- CVSS
- 9.8Critical
- Weakness type
- CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
- CVE
CVE-2026-109515
At a glance
CVE-2026-109515 is a critical-severity Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the MailOptin WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.2.78.6. 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 1.2.78.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2026, reported by Kuba.
Vulnerability Overview
The MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc. plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.2.78.6 This is due to the `subscribe_to_email_list` endpoint accepting an attacker-supplied `optin_data[form_custom_field_mappings]` parameter without any allow-list validation on destination keys, allowing the attacker-controlled mapping to override the administrator's saved mapping and pass arbitrary `wp_users` column names — including `ID` and `user_pass` — directly into `wp_insert_user()` via the `subscribe()` function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to force `wp_insert_user()` into UPDATE mode on any existing account by supplying a target user's numeric `ID`, overwrite that account's password with a pre-hashed value of their choosing, and thereby take over any WordPress user account — including administrators — leading to full site compromise. Exploitation requires that a WordPress User Registration opt-in form is published somewhere on the site, though the form's UUID is visible in page source and no authentication, nonce, or capability check is required to reach the vulnerable endpoint.
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
MailOptin <= 1.2.78.6 carries this weakness at wp_insert_user(), and reaching it 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 MailOptin the fix is 1.2.78.7: builds <= 1.2.78.6 are affected, anything from 1.2.78.7 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.2.78.7, 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: MailOptin 1.2.78.7 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc.
- 9.8CVE-2026-57813: MailOptin Privilege Escalation
CVE-2026-57813 - 7.3Popup, Optin Form & Email Newsletters… Authorization Bypass
- 6.4CVE-2026-66703: MailOptin Stored XSS
CVE-2026-66703 - 5.5CVE-2023-23980: MailOptin <= 1.2.54.0 Cross Site Scripting
CVE-2023-23980 - 5.4CVE-2024-8628: Popup, Optin Form & Email Newsletters… Stored XSS
CVE-2024-8628 - 5.3CVE-2022-36340: MailOptin <= 1.2.49.0 Cache Deletion
CVE-2022-36340 - 4.4CVE-2025-58596: MailOptin <= 1.2.75.0 Stored Cross-Site Scripting
CVE-2025-58596
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