Privilege escalation in BeyondSEO lets contributors manage redirects
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Privilege escalation
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · Low · Low
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-269.
Summary
The BeyondSEO plugin for WordPress is affected up to and including version 1.3.6. Improper privilege management (CWE-269) lets the Contributor role manage site-wide redirects, because its REST endpoints check only a capability that Contributor holds. An authenticated attacker with Contributor access or higher can create, update or delete 301 and 302 redirects, which run for every frontend visitor and can hijack arbitrary paths.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
Description from the CNA
The Beyondseo plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access in versions up to, and including, 1.3.6. This is due to the plugin permanently granting the 'rankingcoach_write_redirectManager' (and sibling rankingcoach_write_* module capabilities) to the Contributor role via BaseModule::defineCapabilities(), whose default role list includes 'contributor', combined with the module's REST endpoints (registered through BaseSubmoduleApi::registerRouteCreate/registerRouteEdit/registerRouteDelete) authorizing state-changing requests solely through checkPermissionsPost(), which only calls current_user_can('rankingcoach_write_<module>') and performs no admin capability, ownership, or additional nonce check inside the callback. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to effectively that of an Administrator with respect to site-wide redirect management — creating, updating, or deleting 301/302 redirects that RedirectManagerHooks::handleRedirects() executes for every frontend visitor on template_redirect, allowing hijacking of arbitrary paths (including /checkout, /wp-login.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rankingcoach | BeyondSEO – AI SEO to Improve Rankings, Listings & Online Visibility | up to 1.3.6 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- BeyondSEO – AI SEO to Improve Rankings, Listings & Online Visibility Vendorrankingcoach Affected up to 1.3.6 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
The sources list no fixed version for BeyondSEO.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
Timeline
- 2026-10-28 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-76780
- 2026-10-28 Alias added: GHSA-8q7r-cf36-8v8v
- 2026-10-28 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
- 2026-10-29 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Other 7
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/dd4b2396-288f-45e6-b911-b017dc8d0526?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/beyondseo/tags/1.3.1/inc/Modules/ModuleBase/BaseModule.php#L249
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/beyondseo/tags/1.3.1/inc/Modules/ModuleLibrary/Links/RedirectManager/RedirectManager.php#L67
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/beyondseo/tags/1.3.1/inc/Modules/ModuleBase/BaseSubmoduleApi.php#L289
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/beyondseo/tags/1.3.1/inc/Modules/ModuleLibrary/Links/RedirectManager/RedirectManagerApi.php#L266
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/beyondseo/tags/1.3.1/inc/Modules/ModuleLibrary/Links/RedirectManager/RedirectManagerHooks.php#L51
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3722492%40beyondseo&new=3722492%40beyondseo
Sources
- CVE-2026-76780 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-76780 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-8q7r-cf36-8v8v · 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