Meta Box AIO <= 3.8.0 - Missing Authorization to Unauthenticated Arbitrary Post Deletion via 'rwmb_frontend_field_object_id' Parameter
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 3.9.0
- Affected Plugin
- Meta Box AIO
- Affected Version
<= 3.8.0- CVSS
- 9.1Critical
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2026-14488
At a glance
CVE-2026-14488 is a critical-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Meta Box AIO WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.8.0. It carries a CVSS score of 9.1 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 3.9.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2026, reported by Austin Ginder.
Vulnerability Overview
The Meta Box AIO plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Missing Authorization via the template_redirect dispatcher in the MB Frontend Submission extension in versions up to, and including, 3.8.0. This is due to the handle_request() function routing the mbfs_delete action without any capability or ownership check, and the nonce verification in check_ajax() being gated behind is_ajax() which is false for template_redirect requests, making it bypassable. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to delete arbitrary posts and pages by supplying an attacker-controlled post ID via the rwmb_frontend_field_object_id GET parameter on any page that hosts a frontend submission form regardless of whether allow_delete is enabled.
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 integrity, availability.
CWE-862: Missing Authorization
Meta Box AIO <= 3.8.0 carries this weakness at handle_request(), 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 Meta Box AIO the fix is 3.9.0: builds <= 3.8.0 are affected, anything from 3.9.0 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 3.9.0, 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: Meta Box AIO 3.9.0 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