CVE-2026-5130
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-5130 is a high-severity Reliance on Cookies without Validation and Integrity Checking (CWE-565) vulnerability in Wordpress (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Web Session Cookie (T1550.004); ranked at the 35th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SC-23 (Session Authenticity) — 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-2026-5130 is an unauthenticated privilege escalation vulnerability in the Debugger & Troubleshooter plugin for WordPress, affecting versions up to and including 1.3.2. The flaw stems from the plugin directly accepting the value of the wp_debug_troubleshoot_simulate_user cookie as a user ID without any cryptographic validation or authorization checks. This cookie value overrides the determine_current_user filter, enabling attackers to impersonate any user on the site. The vulnerability carries 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) and is associated with CWE-565 (Reliance on Cookies without Validation and Integrity Checking).
Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability remotely by simply setting the wp_debug_troubleshoot_simulate_user cookie to the ID of a target user, such as an administrator. Successful exploitation allows full impersonation of the targeted user, granting administrator-level access to perform any privileged actions, including creating new administrator accounts, modifying site content, installing or updating plugins, or achieving complete control over the WordPress site.
The vulnerability was addressed in version 1.4.0 of the plugin through the implementation of a cryptographic token-based validation system. Only administrators can now initiate user simulation, and the cookie contains a random 64-character token that must be validated against database-stored mappings, preventing the acceptance of arbitrary user IDs. Security advisories, including those from Wordfence, recommend immediate updating to the patched version, with code changes visible in the plugin's WordPress trac repository.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-17245
Vulnerability Data
The Debugger & Troubleshooter plugin for WordPress was vulnerable to Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation in versions up to and including 1.3.2. This was due to the plugin accepting the wp_debug_troubleshoot_simulate_user cookie value directly as a user ID without any cryptographic validation…
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or authorization checks. The cookie value was used to override the determine_current_user filter, which allowed unauthenticated attackers to impersonate any user by simply setting the cookie to their target user ID. This made it possible for unauthenticated attackers to gain administrator-level access and perform any privileged actions including creating new administrator accounts, modifying site content, installing plugins, or taking complete control of the WordPress site. The vulnerability was fixed in version 1.4.0 by implementing a cryptographic token-based validation system where only administrators can initiate user simulation, and the cookie contains a random 64-character token that must be validated against database-stored mappings rather than accepting arbitrary user IDs.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Access Enforcement requires authorizations to be enforced by the system rather than by trusting client-supplied cookie values.
Session Authenticity directly requires protecting the integrity and authenticity of session tokens such as cookies, eliminating blind reliance on them.
Transmission Confidentiality and Integrity mandates cryptographic or equivalent protection for data in transit, which covers cookie values exchanged over HTTP.
Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity can detect unauthorized modification of cookie-based data after the fact via integrity verification.
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.
Cookies commonly carry identity assertions; requiring their protection, conveyance, and verification directly eliminates the weakness.
Strong authentication mechanisms reduce reliance on unvalidated cookies for identity and access decisions.
Cryptographic integrity for data-in-transit directly mitigates tampering of cookies sent over the network.
Enforcing access policy and least privilege limits damage from cookie misuse but does not address cookie validation itself.
Integrity protections for data-at-rest can apply to cookie stores but do not cover validation during use.
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.
Security testing can detect cookie-validation flaws but does not itself implement the required controls.
Application security requirements can mandate cookie validation, integrity protection, and server-side session handling.
Secure coding practices directly eliminate reliance on unvalidated cookies by requiring proper integrity checks and server-side verification.
Secure authentication mechanisms can enforce server-side validation and integrity checks that prevent reliance on untrusted cookies.