CVE-2026-2941

High

Published: 21 March 2026

Published

21 March 2026

Modified

24 April 2026

KEV Added

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Patch

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CVSS Score 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Score 0.0005 15.6th percentile

Risk Priority 18 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2026-2941 is a high-severity Missing Authorization (CWE-862) vulnerability in Wordpress (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 15.6th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).

Threat & Defense at a Glance

What attackers do: exploitation maps to Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068) and 2 other techniques. What defenders deploy: see the NIST 800-53 controls recommended below.

Threat & Defense Details

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI

AC-3 Access Enforcement good match

prevent

Enforces approved authorizations for access to system resources, directly addressing the missing capability check that allows unauthorized database modifications.

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match

prevent

Requires identification, reporting, and correction of flaws like the missing capability check in the plugin, enabling timely patching to prevent exploitation.

AC-6 Least Privilege partial match

prevent

Employs least privilege to restrict subscriber-level users from performing high-privilege actions such as database updates and role escalations.

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation

Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.

attack.mitre.org →

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access

Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.

attack.mitre.org →

T1098 Account Manipulation Persistence

Adversaries may manipulate accounts to maintain and/or elevate access to victim systems.

attack.mitre.org →

Why these techniques?

Missing capability check enables remote authenticated DB modification for role escalation (T1068) in a public-facing WordPress plugin (T1190); directly supports account role manipulation via wp_capabilities changes (T1098).

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v18.1

NVD Description

The Linksy Search and Replace plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the 'linksy_search_and_replace_item_details' function in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.4. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers,…

with subscriber-level access and above, to update any database table, any value, including the wp_capabilities database field, which allows attackers to change their own role to administrator, which leads to privilege escalation.

Deeper analysisAI

CVE-2026-2941 is a vulnerability in the Linksy Search and Replace plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 1.0.4. It stems from a missing capability check in the 'linksy_search_and_replace_item_details' function, enabling unauthorized modification of data (CWE-862). The issue has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), reflecting high severity due to its potential for confidentially, integrity, and availability impacts.

Authenticated attackers with subscriber-level access or higher can exploit this vulnerability remotely without user interaction. By leveraging the flawed function, they can update any database table or value, such as modifying the wp_capabilities field to elevate their own role to administrator, resulting in full privilege escalation and potential site compromise.

Advisories from Wordfence provide threat intelligence on the vulnerability (https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/0bf117e2-9e59-4028-b77f-7fce2e7174f3?source=cve), while the plugin's source code confirms the missing check at line 197 in AjaxActions.php (https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/linksy-search-and-replace/tags/1.0.4/inc/Admin/Partials/SearchAndReplace/AjaxActions.php#L197). No specific patch details are outlined in the available references.