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CVE Record

CVE-2026-16259: Uix UserCenter <= 1.0.3 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation

The Uix UserCenter WordPress plugin through 1.0.3 does not verify that the account being modified through an unauthenticated profile-update action belongs to the requester, and it authenticates that action with a token whose signing key is hardcoded and identical across every install, allowing unauthenticated attackers to forge a token for any user, overwrite an administrator's email and password, and take over the account.

CriticalCVSS 9.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysiscritical

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

Uix UserCenter through version 1.0.3 can let an unauthenticated internet user take over a WordPress administrator account. The attacker could change the administrator’s email and password, gaining control of the site and potentially its content, users, and stored data.

Executive priority

Treat as an immediate remediation priority for internet-facing WordPress sites. Unauthenticated administrator takeover can lead to website compromise, data exposure, malicious content, persistence, and operational disruption. Because no fixed version is named, prioritize exposure reduction and compromise review while monitoring official guidance.

Technical view

The unauthenticated profile-update action does not confirm that the target account belongs to the requester. Its authentication token uses a hardcoded signing key shared across installations, allowing forged tokens for arbitrary users. The reported impact is administrator credential replacement and account takeover. CVSS 3.1 is 9.8, categorized as CWE-269.

Likely exposure

WordPress sites running Uix UserCenter version 1.0.3 or earlier are potentially exposed when the vulnerable profile-update action is reachable. The bundle does not identify affected configurations, deployment prevalence, a fixed release, or whether additional controls prevent access.

Exploitation context

CISA KEV inclusion is false, and the supplied sources do not establish active exploitation in the wild. The WPScan reference is tagged as containing exploit and technical information, indicating public technical knowledge, but this alone does not prove real-world attacks.

Researcher notes

The reported weakness combines missing object-level authorization with forgeable authentication caused by a globally hardcoded token key. Scope is stated as versions through 1.0.3. The bundle provides no patch version, affected endpoint details, observed attack telemetry, or vendor confirmation beyond the cited records; validate these gaps before closing remediation.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify and prioritize every WordPress site running Uix UserCenter 1.0.3 or earlier.
  • Disable or remove the plugin where operationally feasible until a verified fixed release is available.
  • Check vendor and WPScan guidance for an official fix or updated mitigation.
  • Reset administrator credentials and review account details if compromise is suspected.
  • Restrict access to affected functionality using existing defensive controls where feasible.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory installed Uix UserCenter versions across all WordPress environments.
  • Confirm whether the unauthenticated profile-update action is externally reachable.
  • Review administrator email, password-reset, login, and profile-change records for unexplained activity.
  • Check for newly created administrators or unexpected privilege changes.
  • After remediation, verify the vulnerable plugin version or functionality is no longer present.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
3

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · medium confidence lookup

CWE-269: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup

Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
description · low confidence lookup

Credential and access behavior lookup

The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
description · low confidence lookup

Privilege behavior lookup

The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2026-16259 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
1ADP providers
2Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: yesTechnical Impact: total

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
9.8CVSS 3.1CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9CISA-ADP

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

9.8Critical
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2026-16259Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
cvssV3_1other:ssvc

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
UnknownUix UserCenter0unknown
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-269

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-269 · source CWE mapping

CWE mapping pending import

This CVE carries a CWE mapping that will resolve to a full Glexia CWE intelligence page after the official CWE import is complete.

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