Missing authorization in Enable Media Replace allows post edits
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · Low · None
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-862.
Summary
The Enable Media Replace plugin for WordPress is affected in all versions up to and including 4.2.2. Missing authorization (CWE-862) in doReplaceQuery() lets authenticated users with Author access or higher change posts that reference replaced media, including Administrator-owned posts. The site-wide search and replace skips per-post capability checks, so unauthenticated visitors see the changes.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
Description from the CNA
The Enable Media Replace plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass in all versions up to, and including, 4.2.2. This is due to the plugin not properly verifying that a user is authorized to perform an action. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with author-level access and above, to modify the post_content of any published post referencing the replaced media — including Administrator-owned posts — making changes immediately visible to unauthenticated visitors. The doReplaceQuery() method performs a database-wide search-and-replace across all posts containing the old media URL without any per-post capability check, meaning a single Author-triggered request can silently overwrite a large number of posts that WordPress's standard admin UI and REST API would otherwise forbid that user from editing.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ShortPixel | Enable Media Replace | up to 4.2.2 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- Enable Media Replace VendorShortPixel Affected up to 4.2.2 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
The sources list no fixed version for Enable Media Replace.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
Timeline
- 2026-10-28 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-85655
- 2026-10-28 Alias added: GHSA-582x-674x-hc38
- 2026-10-29 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Other 10
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/aff42473-63c6-41ca-8312-058f213e2302?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/enable-media-replace/tags/4.2.2/build/shortpixel/replacer/src/Replacer.php#L250
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/enable-media-replace/tags/4.2.2/classes/ViewController/UploadViewController.php#L59
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/enable-media-replace/tags/4.2.2/classes/ViewController/UploadViewController.php#L66
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/enable-media-replace/tags/4.2.2/classes/Controller/ReplaceController.php#L253
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/enable-media-replace/tags/4.1.9/build/shortpixel/replacer/src/Replacer.php#L250
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/enable-media-replace/tags/4.1.9/classes/ViewController/UploadViewController.php#L59
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/enable-media-replace/tags/4.1.9/classes/ViewController/UploadViewController.php#L66
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/enable-media-replace/tags/4.1.9/classes/Controller/ReplaceController.php#L253
- https://github.com/short-pixel-optimizer/enable-media-replace/releases/tag/v4.2.3
More ShortPixel vulnerabilities
- TI-2023-04280 Enable Media Replace < 4.1.3 - Author+ PHP Object Injection CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2023-00241 Enable Media Replace < 4.0.2 - Author+ Arbitrary File Upload CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2023-00318 ShortPixel Adaptive Images < 3.6.3 - Reflected XSS CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.1
- TI-2026-14215 ShortPixel Image Optimizer <= 6.5.5 - Authenticated (Author+) PHP Object Injection via Nested JSON Post Content CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-83296 PHP object injection in Enable Media Replace WordPress plugin CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2023-15794 WordPress ShortPixel Adaptive Images Plugin <= 3.7.1 is vulnerable to Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-85655 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-85655 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-582x-674x-hc38 · 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