CVE-2026-1490
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-1490 is a critical-severity Reliance on Reverse DNS Resolution for a Security-Critical Action (CWE-350) vulnerability in Wordpress (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 36% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to IA-3 (Device Identification and Authentication) and SC-20 (Secure Name/Address Resolution Service (Authoritative Source)) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-1490 is an authorization bypass vulnerability in the Spam protection, Anti-Spam, FireWall by CleanTalk plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 6.71. It stems from reverse DNS (PTR record) spoofing in the 'checkWithoutToken' function, enabling unauthorized arbitrary plugin installation. The issue is classified under CWE-350 and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). Exploitation is only possible on sites configured with an invalid API key.
Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability remotely with low complexity and no user interaction required. By spoofing the PTR record, they bypass authorization checks to install and activate arbitrary plugins. This capability can be chained with another vulnerable plugin to achieve remote code execution.
Advisories and references, including Wordfence threat intelligence and WordPress plugin trac details, point to affected code in RemoteCalls.php (line 69) and Helper.php (line 64), with a patch available in changeset 3454488. Security practitioners should review these sources for patch deployment and mitigation guidance.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-5835
Vulnerability Data
The Spam protection, Anti-Spam, FireWall by CleanTalk plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized Arbitrary Plugin Installation due to an authorization bypass via reverse DNS (PTR record) spoofing on the 'checkWithoutToken' function in all versions up to, and including, 6.71.…
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This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to install and activate arbitrary plugins which can be leveraged to achieve remote code execution if another vulnerable plugin is installed and activated. Note: This is only exploitable on sites with an invalid API key.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Requiring unique device identification and authentication before any connection prevents security decisions based solely on unverified reverse DNS lookups.
Mandating data-origin authentication for name/address resolution stops reliance on unauthenticated reverse DNS responses.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Strong authentication of users/services/hardware directly prevents security decisions based on unauthenticated reverse DNS.
Monitoring DNS services can detect adverse events stemming from unverified reverse lookups.
Network protections reduce the feasibility of attackers exploiting unauthenticated reverse-DNS decisions.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Network security controls can enforce authenticated, non-DNS-based host identification.
Secure network services discourage use of unauthenticated reverse-DNS for access decisions.
Application security requirements can mandate authenticated host verification instead of reverse DNS.
Secure architecture principles discourage reliance on unauthenticated DNS for security decisions.
Secure coding practices can replace reverse-DNS checks with cryptographically verified identities.
Strong authentication mechanisms reduce reliance on unauthenticated DNS-based identity decisions.