CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-9273NVD status: Deferred

Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships: Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-9273 is a critical-severity weak password recovery mechanism for forgotten password vulnerability in Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships from StellarWP, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.3 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, but only if a user takes part, for example by opening a link or file. Affected Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships versions: 4.0.0 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 0.51% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Check which version of Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
  3. Because the attack needs a user to take part, warn users about unexpected links and files related to this product until it is patched.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
StellarwpMembership Plugin – Kadence Memberships4.0.0 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
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
RequiredA user must take an action such as opening a file or link.
Scope
ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component 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:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N. Scored by CNA (wordfence.com).

Official description

The Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships plugin for WordPress (formerly Restrict Content) is vulnerable to password reset link poisoning leading to account takeover in all versions up to, and including, 4.0.0. This is due to the legacy lost-password handler rc_process_lost_password_form() consuming the attacker-controlled rc_redirect POST parameter into two unvalidated sinks in legacy/includes/forms.php: wp_redirect( esc_url( $_POST['rc_redirect'] ) . ... ) at line 243, and add_query_arg( array( 'key' => $key, 'login' => ... ), $_POST['rc_redirect'] ) inside rc_send_password_reset_email() at line 306. The nonce required to reach the handler is broadcast by the public [login_form] shortcode at line 207 to any anonymous visitor. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to issue a password-reset request for any account (including administrators) whose reset email body points the victim at an attacker-controlled host carrying a valid reset key/login. When the victim clicks the link, the reset key leaks to the attacker, who can replay it against the legitimate site to complete account takeover.

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

The underlying weakness: Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password

The product contains a mechanism for users to recover or change their passwords without knowing the original password, but the mechanism is weak.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Make sure that all input supplied by the user to the password recovery mechanism is thoroughly filtered and validated.
  • Do not use standard weak security questions and use several security questions.
  • Make sure that there is throttling on the number of incorrect answers to a security question. Disable the password recovery functionality after a certain (small) number of incorrect guesses.

More Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password vulnerabilities (CWE-640)

Timeline

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

References

Recent Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password vulnerabilities

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