Vulnerability record · CVE-2026-6456 · published 20 May 2026
CVE-2026-6456: Improper authentication vulnerability
The Account Switcher plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.2. This is due to the `rememberLogin` REST API endpoint using a loose comparison (`!=` instead of `!==`) for secret validation at `app/RestAPI.php:111`, combined with no validation that the secret is non-empty. When a target user has never used the "Remember me" feature, their `asSecret` user meta does not exist, causing `get_user_meta()` to return an empty string. An attacker can send an empty `secret` parameter, which passes the comparison (`'' != ''` is `false`), and the endpoint then calls `wp_set_auth_cookie()` for the target user. Additionally, all REST routes use `permission_callback => '__return_true'` with no capability checks. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to switch to any user account including Administrator, ultimately granting themselves full administrative privileges.
Description
The Account Switcher plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.2. This is due to the `rememberLogin` REST API endpoint using a loose comparison (`!=` instead of `!==`) for secret validation at `app/RestAPI.php:111`, combined with no validation that the secret is non-empty. When a target user has never used the "Remember me" feature, their `asSecret` user meta does not exist, causing `get_user_meta()` to return an empty string. An attacker can send an empty `secret` parameter, which passes the comparison (`'' != ''` is `false`), and the endpoint then calls `wp_set_auth_cookie()` for the target user. Additionally, all REST routes use `permission_callback => '__return_true'` with no capability checks. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to switch to any user account including Administrator, ultimately granting themselves full administrative privileges.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
References
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Related vulnerabilities
Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2026-6456), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-26). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.
