CVE-2026-1291

Meow Gallery <= 5.4.4 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Author+) Shortcode creation

2026-06-12 19:54
Chawabhon Netisingha (JNX03)

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 5.4.5
Affected Plugin
Meow Gallery
Affected Version
<= 5.4.4
CVSS
4.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE
CVE-2026-1291
View all Meow Gallery vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-1291 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the Meow Gallery WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 5.4.4. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Author level or above. The issue is fixed in version 5.4.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2026, reported by Chawabhon Netisingha (JNX03).

Vulnerability Overview

The Meow Gallery plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the REST API endpoint /wp-json/meow-gallery/v1/save_shortcode in all versions up to, and including, 5.4.4 This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Author-level access and above, to arbitrarily create or overwrite existing gallery shortcode records by supplying a user-controlled id value. The endpoint performs database update operations without verifying that the requesting user is authorized to modify the referenced gallery record or create their own.

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.

CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

Reaching this weakness in Meow Gallery <= 5.4.4 takes an account at Author level or above. Authorization bypass through a user-controlled key, often called insecure direct object reference, means the application looks up a record by an identifier from the request without checking that the caller owns it.

Changing a number in the request is enough to read or modify other users' records, which on commerce and membership sites means customer data. For Meow Gallery the fix is 5.4.5: builds <= 5.4.4 are affected, anything from 5.4.5 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 5.4.5, 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: Meow Gallery 5.4.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-1291https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3386ea07-9c61-4b54-a451-1178ca6325cbhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-1291

Related records

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