CVE-2026-16291

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities < 5.9.9.8 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Insecure Direct Object Reference

2026-08-02 00:00
Meher Sudhakar Abbireddi

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 5.9.9.8
Affected Plugin
ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities
Affected Version
< 5.9.9.8
CVSS
4.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE
CVE-2026-16291
View all ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-16291 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the ProfileGrid WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 5.9.9.8. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 5.9.9.8; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2026, reported by Meher Sudhakar Abbireddi.

Vulnerability Overview

The ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in versions up to 5.9.9.8 due to missing validation on a user controlled key. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to perform an unauthorized action.

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 ProfileGrid < 5.9.9.8 takes an account at Subscriber 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 ProfileGrid the fix is 5.9.9.8: builds < 5.9.9.8 are affected, anything from 5.9.9.8 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 5.9.9.8, 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: ProfileGrid 5.9.9.8 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-16291https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/551272a2-6c2b-45b8-b2e5-330396c5680ahttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-16291

Related records

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