What the vulnerability does
01Description
The Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in versions up to and including 4.2.0. This is due to insufficient object-level authorization in the image deletion REST flow where the permission callback for DELETE /imagely/v1/images/{id} only checks 'NextGEN Manage gallery' permissions and does not enforce gallery ownership or 'NextGEN Manage others gallery' permissions. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level privileges and 'NextGEN Manage gallery' capability, to delete gallery images belonging to other users as well as their associated image files from disk when deleteImg is enabled (default).
Explanation of Vulnerability in Simple Terms
02Summary
NextGEN Gallery versions up to 4.2.0 contain an authorization flaw that allows authenticated users to modify data they should not have access to. The vulnerability requires a valid user account and network access but no additional user interaction. Site administrators should update to a version newer than 4.2.0 to prevent unauthorized data modification.
What an attacker can do
03Attacker Capabilities
Modify data in the gallery that the attacker should not have permission to change.
Potential impact on your site
04Site Impact
Authenticated users could alter gallery content, settings, or metadata without proper authorization controls.
Conditions required to exploit
05Prerequisites
Attacker must have a valid user account on the site with at least low-level privileges.
Key dates
06Disclosure timeline
May 20, 2026
CVE published
May 20, 2026
Record updated
