CVE-2026-97637: Auth Bypass (CVSS 9.8)

Description

The JSON API Auth plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via Cached Session Cookie Disclosure in all versions up to, and including, 3.1.2. The vulnerability exists because the required PI-Media/json-api parent plugin caches controller dispatch results in transients keyed solely by URI and query string, ignoring HTTP method and POST body; this causes the `generate_auth_cookie()` endpoint — which embeds a live WordPress `logged_in` cookie produced by `wp_generate_auth_cookie()` directly in its JSON response body — to serve that cached authenticated response to any subsequent unauthenticated GET request to the same URI. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to retrieve a valid Administrator `logged_in` session cookie from the cached response and use it to fully authenticate as the site Administrator, including via the same plugin's `get_currentuserinfo` endpoint and any cookie-authenticated controller action. Exploitation requires the PI-Media/json-api parent plugin to be installed and active with the Auth controller enabled, and a legitimate Administrator must have POSTed to `/api/auth/generate_auth_cookie/` within the preceding 24-hour cache TTL; the nominal HTTPS enforcement gate present in `Auth.php` is trivially bypassed by supplying `insecure=cool` as a request parameter.

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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

0.0064

Probability of exploitation

0.50%

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-287 Improper Authentication

References

Other References

https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/json-api-auth/tags/3.1.2/controllers/Auth.php#L104 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/json-api-auth/tags/3.1.2/controllers/Auth.php#L28 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/json-api-auth/tags/3.1.2/controllers/Auth.php#L66 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/json-api-auth/tags/3.1.2/controllers/Auth.php#L77 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/json-api-auth/tags/3.1.2/json-api-auth.php#L65 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3712939%40json-api-auth&new=3712939%40json-api-auth https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/f2fdf8bf-7f53-4579-9a1f-be7b3ef1ca50?source=cve

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-97637? +

The JSON API Auth plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via Cached Session Cookie Disclosure in all versions up to, and including, 3.1.2. The vulnerability exists because the required PI-Media/json-api parent plugin caches controller dispatch results in transients keyed solely by URI and query string, ignoring HTTP method and POST body; this causes the `generate_auth_cookie()` endpoint — which embeds a live WordPress `logged_in` cookie produced by `wp_generate_auth_cookie()` directly in its JSON response body — to serve that cached authenticated response to any subsequent unauthenticated GET request to the same URI. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to retrieve a valid Administrator `logged_in` session cookie from the cached response and use it to fully authenticate as the site Administrator, including via the same plugin's `get_currentuserinfo` endpoint and any cookie-authenticated controller action. Exploitation requires the PI-Media/json-api parent plugin to be installed and active with the Auth controller enabled, and a legitimate Administrator must have POSTed to `/api/auth/generate_auth_cookie/` within the preceding 24-hour cache TTL; the nominal HTTPS enforcement gate present in `Auth.php` is trivially bypassed by supplying `insecure=cool` as a request parameter. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

How severe is CVE-2026-97637? +

CVE-2026-97637 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 0.0064, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-97637? +

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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