MediumCVE-2026-109979

    Barrykooij Related Posts for WordPress: Missing Authorization (CVE-2026-109979)

    Published Last modified Sources: CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    The Related Posts for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in versions up to, and including, 3.0.0 via the 'rp4wp_create_link' parameter of the hidden 'rp4wp_link_related' admin page. The handle_create_link() handler verifies the nonce and that the current user can edit the parent post, but never checks that the attacker-supplied child post ID is one the user is allowed to read; LinkRepository::insert() stores the arbitrary child ID without validation, and ManageLinks::render() later calls LinkRepository::get_children() in its no-extra-args fast path, which falls through to array_map('get_post', $child_ids) — bypassing read_private_posts/read_post capability checks — and then echoes esc_html($child->post_title) in the parent's editor meta box.

    The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below.

    Affected
    • Barrykooij Related Posts for WordPress lte *..3.0.0

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    4.3

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    4.3

    CVSS v3

    Severity Medium on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: CVE.org

    —

    EPSS score

    No value is available for this vulnerability.

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Medium
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    51.50 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    no public PoC known
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    4.3 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    4.3
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-862

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    The Related Posts for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in versions up to, and including, 3.0.0 via the 'rp4wp_create_link' parameter of the hidden 'rp4wp_link_related' admin page. The handle_create_link() handler verifies the nonce and that the current user can edit the parent post, but never checks that the attacker-supplied child post ID is one the user is allowed to read; LinkRepository::insert() stores the arbitrary child ID without validation, and ManageLinks::render() later calls LinkRepository::get_children() in its no-extra-args fast path, which falls through to array_map('get_post', $child_ids) — bypassing read_private_posts/read_post capability checks — and then echoes esc_html($child->post_title) in the parent's editor meta box. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to read the titles of arbitrary non-public posts (drafts, pending, private, future, trashed) authored by higher-privileged users by linking those post IDs to a draft they own and then reading the resulting meta box.

    Source: NVD (NIST), cvelistv5

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    barrykooijRelated Posts for WordPress
    • ≤ 3.0.0
    • —

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-862Missing Authorization

      Class

      The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-862

    References & sources

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    1. ReceivedWordfence

      CVSS V3.1: AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

      Weakness type: CWE-862

      Description added or changed

      Show 11 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Descriptionadded
      —
      The Related Posts for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in versions up to, and including, 3.0.0 via the 'rp4wp_create_link' parameter of the hidden 'rp4wp_link_related' admin page. The handle_create_link() handler verifies the nonce and that the current user can edit the parent post, but never checks that the attacker-supplied child post ID is one the user is allowed to read; LinkRepository::insert() stores the arbitrary child ID without validation, and ManageLinks::render() later calls LinkRepository::get_children() in its no-extra-args fast path, which falls through to array_map('get_post', $child_ids) — bypassing read_private_posts/read_post capability checks — and then echoes esc_html($child->post_title) in the parent's editor meta box. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to read the titles of arbitrary non-public posts (drafts, pending, private, future, trashed) authored by higher-privileged users by linking those post IDs to a draft they own and then reading the resulting meta box.
      CVSSadded
      —
      AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
      Weakness type (CWE)added
      —
      CWE-862
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/109xxx/CVE-2026-109979.json">CVE-2026-109979</a>
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/related-posts-for-wp/tags/3.0.0/src/Admin/LinkScreen/Page.php#L164
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/related-posts-for-wp/tags/3.0.0/src/Admin/MetaBox/ManageLinks.php#L98
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/related-posts-for-wp/tags/3.0.0/src/Links/LinkRepository.php#L310
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/related-posts-for-wp/tags/3.0.0/src/Links/LinkRepository.php#L86
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3757484/related-posts-for-wp/trunk/src/Admin/LinkScreen/Page.php
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3757484%40related-posts-for-wp&new=3757484%40related-posts-for-wp
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3ab9af6a-bfe7-4da5-8e60-b20f38cbab36?source=cve

      Source identifier: security@wordfence.com

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