CVE-2026-77788

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings < 1.0.277 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Author+) Arbitrary Post/User Meta Overwrite

2026-08-31 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 1.0.277
Affected Plugin: Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings
Affected Version: < 1.0.277
CVSS: 4.3Medium
Weakness type: CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE: CVE-2026-77788

View all Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-77788 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the Rank Math SEO WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 1.0.277. 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 1.0.277; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2026, reported by Usama Arshad.

Vulnerability Overview

The Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access due to a missing capability check on a function in all versions up to 1.0.277 (exclusive). This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Author-level access and above, to overwrite post and user metadata.

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 Rank Math SEO < 1.0.277 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 Rank Math SEO the fix is 1.0.277: builds < 1.0.277 are affected, anything from 1.0.277 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.0.277, 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: Rank Math SEO 1.0.277 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-77788 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/10704eeb-728c-43fc-9d58-36438480c8df https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-77788

Related records

Other vulnerabilities in Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings

CVSS Vector

4.3

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

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityNone

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