CVE-2026-16142

TrueBooker <= 1.2.6 - Unauthenticated Account Takeover via Insecure Direct Object Reference in 'truebooker_wp_user_id' Parameter

2026-08-14 20:09
Nabil Irawan

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 1.2.7
Affected Plugin
TrueBooker – Appointment Booking and Scheduler System
Affected Version
<= 1.2.6
CVSS
9.8Critical
Weakness type
CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE
CVE-2026-16142
View all TrueBooker – Appointment Booking and Scheduler System vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-16142 is a critical-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the TrueBooker WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.2.6. 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 1.2.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2026, reported by Nabil Irawan.

Vulnerability Overview

The TrueBooker plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Account Takeover in all versions up to, and including, 1.2.6. This is due to the add_front_user_update() AJAX handler being registered for unauthenticated users and accepting an arbitrary truebooker_wp_user_id value, which is passed directly to wp_update_user() without verifying authentication or ownership. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to change any WordPress user account email address, including an administrator, by submitting the target user ID and an attacker-controlled email address. An attacker can then use the native WordPress password reset flow to receive the reset link at the attacker-controlled email address and take over the 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-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

TrueBooker <= 1.2.6 carries this weakness at add_front_user_update(), and reaching it takes no account at all. 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 TrueBooker the fix is 1.2.7: builds <= 1.2.6 are affected, anything from 1.2.7 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.2.7, 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: TrueBooker 1.2.7 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-16142https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/f0d3f7cb-4974-4b0f-9658-1895e5966276https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-16142

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C