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Attackers are actively exploiting two critical authentication bypass flaws in the miniOrange SAML 2.0 Single Sign On plugin for WordPress, allowing forged SAML responses to grant administrator access on vulnerable sites. The bugs, tracked as CVE-2026-61979 and CVE-2026-15981, can be chained so the plugin accepts attacker-controlled authentication data by misusing an IdP RSA public key as a shared secret and treating an OpenSSL verification error as a valid signature check.
Security reporting says exploitation attempts and opportunistic scanning are already underway, with one August incident involving a suspicious WordPress admin session that DigitalOcean linked to exploitation of the Standard edition plugin version 16.1.9. Although fixes were released in July, the vendor advisory reportedly covered only the free edition, leaving many paid-edition customers unaware because those versions do not display update warnings in the WordPress dashboard; organizations using identity providers such as Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, and Google Workspace may remain exposed if they have not manually upgraded, especially now that a public proof-of-concept is available.
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6 events from the most recent confirmed update back to the earliest known activity.
On August 16, 2026, DigitalOcean blocked an anomalous WordPress administrator session that Patchstack linked to exploitation of the Standard edition plugin version 16.1.9. Patchstack said attackers used the flaws to obtain an administrator session cookie, and the blocked session originated outside DigitalOcean's trusted network.
When the fixes were released, the vendor advisory reportedly covered only the free edition of the plugin even though six paid editions also received patches. This left many paid-edition users unaware of the vulnerabilities and without dashboard update warnings prompting remediation.
In July 2026, two critical authentication bypass vulnerabilities in the miniOrange SAML 2.0 Single Sign On plugin for WordPress, CVE-2026-61979 and CVE-2026-15981, were publicly disclosed and fixes were released. Reported patched versions included 5.4.5 for the free single-site edition, 13.0.4 for Premium single-site, 17.06 for Standard single-site, and 20.2.8 for Premium, Enterprise, and All-Inclusive multisite editions.
After working with miniOrange to obtain the complete edition and version matrix, Patchstack updated its vulnerability database on August 18, 2026 to list seven disjoint affected ranges for the miniOrange SAML SSO plugin editions. The update addressed earlier incomplete public coverage that had focused only on the free edition.
A public proof-of-concept exploit targeting the free edition of the vulnerable plugin was made available. Patchstack warned that its availability could accelerate attacks against unpatched sites.
Patchstack reported that attackers were already attempting to exploit the two vulnerabilities and conducting opportunistic scanning against WordPress sites. The activity was observed from six IP addresses across Europe, Africa, and the United States.
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A critical broken authentication flaw tracked as **CVE-2026-57807** affects the miniOrange **OAuth Single Sign On - SSO (OAuth Client)** WordPress plugin and allows unauthenticated remote attackers to compromise vulnerable sites. The issue impacts plugin versions **through 38.5.8** and is classified as **CWE-288**. According to public reporting and the CVE entry, the bug abuses the plugin's password recovery flow to let an attacker authenticate as arbitrary WordPress users, including administrators, creating a direct path to full website takeover. The vulnerability carries a **CVSS 9.8** rating and is considered low complexity and remotely exploitable with no user interaction required. Patchstack disclosed the issue and warned it is likely to face mass exploitation, while noting that no official vendor patch was available at the time of reporting. Defenders were urged to immediately remove the affected plugin or limit exposure to WordPress login and password recovery endpoints until miniOrange releases a fix; Patchstack also said it had issued a virtual patch for protected customers.
Jul 13, 2026
A critical authentication bypass and privilege escalation flaw tracked as **`CVE-2026-61967`** affects the **miniOrange OTP Verification** WordPress plugin in versions **`<= 5.5.1`**, allowing unauthenticated attackers to take over accounts, including administrators. The bug occurs in password reset handling when the plugin is used with **Ultimate Member**: the vulnerable code accepts a publicly exposed WordPress nonce but fails to verify that OTP validation actually happened, enabling attackers to trigger password resets for arbitrary users and recover a valid reset URL and secret hash from the HTTP redirect response.
Aug 15, 2026
A **critical unauthenticated privilege-escalation vulnerability** in the *Modular DS* WordPress plugin is being **actively exploited in the wild** to obtain administrator access. The flaw, tracked as **CVE-2026-23550** (CVSS **10.0**), affects *all versions up to and including 2.5.1* and is fixed in **2.5.2**; the plugin is reported to have **40,000+ active installs**. The issue stems from the plugin’s routing/authentication design under the ` /api/modular-connector/ ` prefix, where attackers can bypass authentication middleware by forcing “direct request” handling using parameters such as `origin=mo` and an arbitrary `type` value, particularly when the site is already connected to Modular services (i.e., tokens are present/renewable). Exploitation leverages exposed routes including ` /login/ ` (notably ` /api/modular-connector/login/ ` / ` /login/{modular_request} `), enabling auto-login behavior that results in **administrator-level access** and potential full site compromise (e.g., data access, backups, management actions, and follow-on malware/persistence). Reporting also notes observed attacker behavior and indicators tied to exploitation attempts against the login endpoint (e.g., requests containing `origin=mo&type=foo`) and lists IPs associated with scanning and post-exploitation activity, including `45.11.89[.]19`, `162.158.123[.]41`, `172.70.176[.]95`, and `172.70.176[.]52`. Patch guidance emphasizes immediate upgrade to **2.5.2**, and mitigations include rules intended to block exploit patterns and hardening changes such as stricter route binding and `type` validation.
Jun 29, 2026