Vulnerability record · CVE-2026-80099 · published 9 September 2026
CVE-2026-80099: Improper authentication vulnerability
Several Newfold plugins are vulnerable to Authentication Bypass. The vulnerability exists because the plugins bundle the wp-module-data module. In the module, the `authenticate()` method — registered on the `rest_authentication_errors` filter and therefore evaluated for every unauthenticated REST API request — performs an HMAC-style Bearer token comparison that degenerates when `HiiveConnection::get_auth_token()` returns `false`: PHP coerces `strrev(false)` to `strrev('')`, collapsing the secret salt to the publicly known constant `hash('sha256', '') = e3b0c44...`, while all remaining hash inputs (HTTP method, request URL, raw request body, and the `X-Timestamp` header) remain fully attacker-controlled. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to compute a valid Bearer token entirely offline, pass the token equality check, and have `wp_set_current_user()` invoked against the first administrator returned by `get_users(['role' => 'administrator'])`, granting full administrator-level access and enabling arbitrary REST API operations such as creating new administrator accounts and achieving complete site takeover. Vulnerable versions are WP Plugin Crazy Domains (<= 2.5.2), WP Plugin Web (<= 2.3.4), WP Plugin Hostgator (<= 3.1.0), WP Plugin Bluehost (<= 4.17.1). The affected module is vulnerable in versions up to, and including, 2.9.4.
Description
Several Newfold plugins are vulnerable to Authentication Bypass. The vulnerability exists because the plugins bundle the wp-module-data module. In the module, the `authenticate()` method — registered on the `rest_authentication_errors` filter and therefore evaluated for every unauthenticated REST API request — performs an HMAC-style Bearer token comparison that degenerates when `HiiveConnection::get_auth_token()` returns `false`: PHP coerces `strrev(false)` to `strrev('')`, collapsing the secret salt to the publicly known constant `hash('sha256', '') = e3b0c44...`, while all remaining hash inputs (HTTP method, request URL, raw request body, and the `X-Timestamp` header) remain fully attacker-controlled. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to compute a valid Bearer token entirely offline, pass the token equality check, and have `wp_set_current_user()` invoked against the first administrator returned by `get_users(['role' => 'administrator'])`, granting full administrator-level access and enabling arbitrary REST API operations such as creating new administrator accounts and achieving complete site takeover. Vulnerable versions are WP Plugin Crazy Domains (<= 2.5.2), WP Plugin Web (<= 2.3.4), WP Plugin Hostgator (<= 3.1.0), WP Plugin Bluehost (<= 4.17.1). The affected module is vulnerable in versions up to, and including, 2.9.4.
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-2026-80099), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-26). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.
