Incorrect authorization in davidanderson WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify &…
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · Low · Low
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-863.
Summary
The WP-Optimize plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access of functionality due to missing capability checks in the `receive_heartbeat()` function in `includes/class-wp-optimize-heartbeat.php` in all versions up to, and including, 4.5.0. This is due to the Heartbeat handler directly invoking `Updraft_Smush_Manager_Commands` methods without verifying user capabilities, nonce tokens, or the allowed commands whitelist that the normal AJAX handler (`updraft_smush_ajax`) enforces. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to invoke admin-only Smush operations including reading log files (`get_smush_logs`), deleting all backup images (`clean_all_backup_images`), triggering bulk image processing (`process_bulk_smush`), and modifying Smush options (`update_smush_options`).
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| davidanderson | WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance | up to 4.5.0 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance Vendordavidanderson Affected up to 4.5.0 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-2712
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-v86m-gg8v-4873
References
Other 5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/6a0a376e-ea3a-40ca-9341-f28f92e15e02?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-optimize/tags/4.4.1/includes/class-wp-optimize-heartbeat.php#L65
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-optimize/trunk/includes/class-wp-optimize-heartbeat.php#L65
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-optimize/tags/4.4.1/includes/class-wp-optimize-heartbeat.php#L82
- https://research.cleantalk.org/cve-2026-2712/
More davidanderson vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-09266 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin <= 1.26.4 - Unauthenticated Authentication Bypass via UpdraftCentral udrpc CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.1
- TI-2026-07417 All-In-One Security (AIOS) <= 5.4.7 - Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via REST API Request Path CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.2
- TI-2024-10156 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 1.23.8 - 1.24.11 - Unauthenticated PHP Object Injection CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2024-06331 Redux Framework 4.4.12 - 4.4.17 - Unauthenticated JSON File Upload to Stored Cross-Site Scripting CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.2
- TI-2026-06366 WP-Optimize <= 4.5.2 - Authenticated (Author+) Arbitrary File Deletion via 'original-file' Post Meta CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.1
- TI-2025-43896 Privilege escalation in Redux Framework lets subscribers set roles CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-2712 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-2712 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-v86m-gg8v-4873 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences