CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-4609NVD status: Deferred

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and…: Missing Authorization

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-4609 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities from Metagauss, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.1 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities versions: 5.9.8.4 and earlier. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.22% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
MetagaussProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities5.9.8.4 and earlierNot stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
LowSome restricted data can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
NoneAvailability is not affected.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N. Scored by CNA (wordfence.com).

Official description

The ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access due to a missing capability check on the pm_invite_user function in all versions up to, and including, 5.9.8.4. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to add themselves or any registered user to any ProfileGrid group, including closed and paid groups, bypassing all authorization and payment gates.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Missing Authorization

The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries. Note that this approach may not protect against horizontal authorization, i.e., it will not protect a user from attacking others with the same role.
  • Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records. For example, a database may restrict access for medical records to a specific database user, but each record might only be intended to be accessible to the patient and the patient's doctor.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using authorization frameworks such as the JAAS Authorization Framework and the OWASP ESAPI Access Control feature.

More Missing Authorization vulnerabilities (CWE-862)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities

All ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities vulnerabilities

Recent Missing Authorization vulnerabilities

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