CVE-2026-57697

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities <= 5.9.9.6 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation via Password Reset

2026-07-08 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 5.9.9.7
Affected Plugin: ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities
Affected Version: <= 5.9.9.6
CVSS: 9.8Critical
Weakness type: CWE-521 · Weak Password Requirements
CVE: CVE-2026-57697

View all ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-57697 is a critical-severity Weak Password Requirements vulnerability in the ProfileGrid WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 5.9.9.6. 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 5.9.9.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2026, reported by Jakub Herman.

Vulnerability Overview

The ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation via account takeover in all versions up to, and including, 5.9.9.6. This is due to the plugin not properly validating a user's identity prior to updating their details like password. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to change arbitrary user's passwords, including administrators, and leverage that to gain access to their 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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-521: Weak Password Requirements

The product does not require that users should have strong passwords.

Remediation

Update to version 5.9.9.7, 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: ProfileGrid 5.9.9.7 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-57697 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/59aebe74-cf53-49f4-8f20-ebb5503d7dbd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-57697

Related records

Other vulnerabilities in ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities

CVSS Vector

9.8

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh

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