Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin <= 1.6.6 - 2-Factor Authentication Bypass
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.6.7
- Affected Plugin
- Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin
- Affected Version
<= 1.6.6- CVSS
- 5.3Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-287 · Improper Authentication
- CVE
CVE-2026-82228
At a glance
CVE-2026-82228 is a medium-severity Improper Authentication vulnerability in the Security Optimizer WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.6.6. It carries a CVSS score of 5.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 1.6.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2026, reported by Ananda Dhakal.
Vulnerability Overview
The Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to 2FA Bypass in all versions up to, and including, 1.6.6. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to bypass a second factor of authentication when the first is known.
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.
CWE-287: Improper Authentication
Reaching this weakness in Security Optimizer <= 1.6.6 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Improper authentication means the mechanism that proves who a caller is can be satisfied without the secret it was supposed to require.
An attacker authenticates as another user — administrators included — without ever knowing a password, so password policies and login rate limits never come into play. For Security Optimizer the fix is 1.6.7: builds <= 1.6.6 are affected, anything from 1.6.7 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.6.7, 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: Security Optimizer 1.6.7 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin
- 9.8CVE-2022-0992: SiteGround Security <= 1.2.5 Authentication Bypass
CVE-2022-0992 - 8.1CVE-2022-0993: SiteGround Security Authorization Weakness
CVE-2022-0993 - 7.2CVE-2023-0234: SiteGround Security <= 1.3.0 SQL Injection
CVE-2023-0234 - 5.3CVE-2026-13342: Security Optimizer IP Allowlist Bypass
CVE-2026-13342 - 5.3CVE-2025-66121: SiteGround Security <= 1.5.8 Missing Authorization
CVE-2025-66121 - 4.3CVE-2024-38774: Security Optimizer Missing Authorization
CVE-2024-38774
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C