WooCommerce PayPal Payments: Missing Authorization
CVE-2026-9284 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in WooCommerce PayPal Payments from WooCommerce, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.2 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected WooCommerce PayPal Payments versions: 4.0.1 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 0.46% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of WooCommerce PayPal Payments you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woocommerce | WooCommerce PayPal Payments | 4.0.1 and earlier | Not 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
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- LowLimited modification of data is possible.
- Availability
- NoneAvailability is not affected.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N. Scored by CNA (wordfence.com).
Official description
The WooCommerce PayPal Payments plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized order manipulation and information disclosure due to missing authorization checks on the `ppc-create-order` and `ppc-get-order` WC-AJAX endpoints in all versions up to, and including, 4.0.1. The `ppc-create-order` endpoint accepts an arbitrary WooCommerce order ID in the `pay-now` context without validating order ownership, allowing attackers to create PayPal orders for any WC order and write PayPal metadata to it. The `ppc-get-order` endpoint returns full PayPal order details for any PayPal order ID without binding to the requester's session. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to chain these endpoints to manipulate other customers' order payment flows and exfiltrate sensitive order details (payer information, shipping data) by creating a PayPal order for a victim's WC order and then retrieving the PayPal order data.
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.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other references
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/woocommerce-paypal-payments/tags/3.3.2/modules/ppcp-button/src/Endpoint/Cr…
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/woocommerce-paypal-payments/tags/3.3.2/modules/ppcp-button/src/Endpoint/Ge…
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/woocommerce-paypal-payments/trunk/modules/ppcp-button/src/Endpoint/CreateO…
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/woocommerce-paypal-payments/trunk/modules/ppcp-button/src/Endpoint/GetOrde…
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=3497597%40woocommerce-paypal-payment…
- wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/d5fa3282-b3be-4ea1-9865-011dea828a25?source=cve
Recent Missing Authorization vulnerabilities
- 8.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 10.0 Critical severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
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