CVE-2026-22182
Published: 13 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-22182 is a high-severity Missing Authorization (CWE-862) vulnerability in Gvectors Wpdiscuz. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Service Exhaustion Flood (T1499.002); ranked at the 14.0th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Likely Mitigating ControlsAI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Requiring an access control policy ensures authorization checks are defined and applied for critical functions.
This control implements explicit throttling on session allocation, addressing the weakness of allocating resources without limits.
Reviews of access controls detect missing authorization checks on critical functions or resources.
Documenting permitted unauthenticated actions prevents missing authorization by making all exceptions explicit and subject to organizational review.
Requiring attribute association with information prevents authorization from being performed without necessary security or privacy context.
Mandating authorization prior to allowing remote connections addresses missing authorization for remote access.
Mandating authorization before wireless connections are allowed prevents missing authorization for wireless access.
The control requires authorization before allowing mobile device connections, directly mitigating missing authorization for system access.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Unauthenticated abuse of notification endpoint enables mass email flooding, directly facilitating endpoint DoS via service/application resource exhaustion.
NVD Description
wpDiscuz before 7.6.47 contains an unauthenticated denial of service vulnerability that allows anonymous users to trigger mass notification emails by exploiting the checkNotificationType() function. Attackers can repeatedly call the wpdiscuz-ajax.php endpoint with arbitrary postId and comment_id parameters to flood subscribers…
more
with notifications, as the handler lacks nonce verification, authentication checks, and rate limiting.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-22182 is an unauthenticated denial-of-service vulnerability in the wpDiscuz WordPress plugin versions prior to 7.6.47. The issue stems from the checkNotificationType() function, which lacks nonce verification, authentication checks, and rate limiting. Attackers can exploit this by repeatedly calling the wpdiscuz-ajax.php endpoint with arbitrary postId and comment_id parameters, triggering mass notification emails to subscribers. The vulnerability is rated 7.5 on the CVSS 3.1 scale (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H) and is associated with CWE-862 (Missing Authorization) and CWE-770 (Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling).
Anonymous attackers can exploit this vulnerability remotely over the network with low complexity and no privileges required. By sending repeated requests to the vulnerable endpoint, they can flood email subscribers of affected WordPress sites with notifications, potentially overwhelming email servers, exhausting resources, and disrupting service availability for legitimate users.
Advisories, including the wpDiscuz plugin page on WordPress.org and a detailed report from VulnCheck, recommend updating to wpDiscuz version 7.6.47 or later to mitigate the issue, as this version addresses the lack of protections in the notification handler.
Details
- CWE(s)