CVE-2026-40722

Yoast SEO Premium <= 26.6 - Missing Authorization

2026-01-15 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 26.7
Affected Plugin: Yoast SEO Premium
Affected Version: <= 26.6
CVSS: 4.3Medium
Weakness type: CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE: CVE-2026-40722

View all Yoast SEO Premium vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-40722 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Yoast SEO Premium WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 26.6. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The root cause is a missing authorization check on a reachable function. The issue is fixed in version 26.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2026, reported by ilicfilip.

Vulnerability Overview

The Yoast SEO Premium plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access due to a missing capability check on a function in versions up to, and including, 26.6. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with author-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-862: Missing Authorization

Reaching this weakness in Yoast SEO Premium <= 26.6 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. A missing authorization check means a function is reachable by anyone who can reach the endpoint, because the code never asks whether the caller is allowed to perform the action.

Any user who can reach the endpoint gets to run an action reserved for higher-privileged roles, from reading protected data to changing settings or content. For Yoast SEO Premium the fix is 26.7: builds <= 26.6 are affected, anything from 26.7 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 26.7, 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: Yoast SEO Premium 26.7 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-40722 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/ca0024c9-b740-4871-8912-06102677368f https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-40722

Related records

Same weakness class

5.3CVE-2023-28775: Yoast SEO Premium <= 20.4 Zapier Key ResetCVE-2023-28775

Other vulnerabilities in Yoast SEO Premium

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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