CVE-2026-18072 (CVSS 9.8)

Description

The Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via a Hardcoded Backdoor in version 10.8.7. The vulnerability exists because the `_arve_uc_init()` function — registered on WordPress's `init` hook at priority 1 so that it runs before any authentication checks on every request — reads an attacker-supplied token from the `_wplogin` (or `_wpm`) parameter and compares it against a hardcoded SHA-256 hash embedded directly in the plugin source, with no nonce verification, no capability check, and no password validation anywhere in the flow. Because this static hash constitutes a set of universal credentials that are publicly accessible in the plugin's source code, unauthenticated attackers can supply the known token to be authenticated as an arbitrarily selected existing administrator account, gaining full administrative control over the affected WordPress site. This was likely introduced by an attacker who gained commit access to the developers account.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

9.8

CRITICAL

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

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0059

Probability of exploitation

0.45%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-506 CWE-506

References

Other References

https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/advanced-responsive-video-embedder/tags/10.8.7/advanced-responsive-video-embedder.php#L76 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/advanced-responsive-video-embedder/tags/10.8.7/php/fn-update-check.php#L24 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/advanced-responsive-video-embedder/tags/10.8.7/php/fn-update-check.php#L33 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/advanced-responsive-video-embedder/tags/10.8.7/php/fn-update-check.php#L52 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/70f64ea0-5375-479f-90ac-29bcdf817cef?source=cve

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-18072? +

The Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via a Hardcoded Backdoor in version 10.8.7. The vulnerability exists because the `_arve_uc_init()` function — registered on WordPress's `init` hook at priority 1 so that it runs before any authentication checks on every request — reads an attacker-supplied token from the `_wplogin` (or `_wpm`) parameter and compares it against a hardcoded SHA-256 hash embedded directly in the plugin source, with no nonce verification, no capability check, and no password validation anywhere in the flow. Because this static hash constitutes a set of universal credentials that are publicly accessible in the plugin's source code, unauthenticated attackers can supply the known token to be authenticated as an arbitrarily selected existing administrator account, gaining full administrative control over the affected WordPress site. This was likely introduced by an attacker who gained commit access to the developers account. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

How severe is CVE-2026-18072? +

CVE-2026-18072 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.8 out of 10, rated CRITICAL. This is a critical vulnerability that should be patched immediately. The EPSS score is 0.0059, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-18072? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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