What the vulnerability does
01Description
The mCatFilter plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in all versions up to and including 0.5.2. This is due to the complete absence of nonce verification and capability checks in the compute_post() function, which processes settings updates. The compute_post() function is called in the plugin constructor on every page load via the plugins_loaded hook, and it directly processes $_POST data to modify plugin settings via update_option() without any CSRF token validation. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to modify all plugin settings, including category exclusion rules, feed exclusion flags, and tag page exclusion flags, via a forged POST request, granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking a link.
Explanation of Vulnerability in Simple Terms
02Summary
mCatFilter versions 0.5.2 and earlier are vulnerable to cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks. An attacker can craft a malicious webpage that, when visited by a logged-in site administrator, performs unwanted actions on the site without their knowledge. The vulnerability requires the victim to visit the attacker's page while authenticated. No data theft or system compromise occurs, but site configuration or content could be altered.
What an attacker can do
03Attacker Capabilities
Trick a logged-in admin into performing unwanted actions on the site by visiting a malicious webpage.
Potential impact on your site
04Site Impact
An attacker could modify site settings or content if an admin visits a malicious link while logged in.
Conditions required to exploit
05Prerequisites
Victim must be logged in to the site and visit an attacker-controlled webpage.
Key dates
06Disclosure timeline
April 22, 2026
CVE published
April 22, 2026
Record updated
