CVE-2026-4248

High

Published: 27 March 2026

Published

27 March 2026

Modified

24 April 2026

KEV Added

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Patch

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CVSS Score 8.0 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Score 0.0004 12.2th percentile

Risk Priority 16 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2026-4248 is a high-severity Improper Authorization (CWE-285) vulnerability in Wordpress (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 8.0 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 12.2th 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 SI-15 (Information Output Filtering) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).

Threat & Defense at a Glance

What attackers do: exploitation maps to Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068) and 1 other technique. What defenders deploy: see the NIST 800-53 controls recommended below.

Threat & Defense Details

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match

prevent

Directly remediates the specific flaw in Ultimate Member plugin's shortcode processing that generates and exposes password reset tokens during post preview.

SI-15 Information Output Filtering good match

prevent

Filters information output during post preview to block disclosure of sensitive user metadata like password reset links generated by the vulnerable template tag.

AC-6 Least Privilege partial match

prevent

Enforces least privilege to restrict Contributor-level users from authoring pending posts containing exploitable shortcodes previewed by Administrators.

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 →

Why these techniques?

Vulnerability in public-facing WordPress plugin directly enables exploitation for privilege escalation (contributor to admin) via crafted content triggering unauthorized password reset token generation and exposure.

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

NVD Description

The Ultimate Member plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 2.11.2. This is due to the '{usermeta:password_reset_link}' template tag being processed within post content via the '[um_loggedin]' shortcode, which generates a…

valid password reset token for the currently logged-in user viewing the page. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to craft a malicious pending post that, when previewed by an Administrator, generates a password reset token for the Administrator and exfiltrates it to an attacker-controlled server, leading to full account takeover.

Deeper analysisAI

CVE-2026-4248 is a sensitive information exposure vulnerability affecting the Ultimate Member plugin for WordPress in all versions up to and including 2.11.2. The issue stems from the '{usermeta:password_reset_link}' template tag being processed within post content via the '[um_loggedin]' shortcode, which generates a valid password reset token for the currently logged-in user viewing the page. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.0 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and is associated with CWE-285 (Improper Authorization).

Authenticated attackers with Contributor-level access or higher can exploit this vulnerability by crafting a malicious pending post. When an Administrator previews the post, it triggers the shortcode to generate a password reset token for the Administrator's account, which the attacker can exfiltrate to a controlled server. This enables full account takeover of the Administrator.

Patches and mitigation details are available in the referenced advisories, including a GitHub pull request at https://github.com/ultimatemember/ultimatemember/pull/1799 and code changes in the WordPress plugin Trac at https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3492178/ultimate-member/trunk/includes/um-short-functions.php, addressing the processing in um-short-functions.php around line 205. Additional analysis is provided by Wordfence at https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/baafd001-144d-4ee4-b7e6-28c0931e6e10?source=cve.