CVE-2026-11616: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-j857-hxgm-cvxf
Share
CVSS 8.8
CWE-269
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-11616 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-11616 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-11616
GHSA Identifier GHSA-j857-hxgm-cvxf
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.8
CWE Classification CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2026-11616

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-11616, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management, where the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

The Events Calendar for GeoDirectory plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in versions up to and including 2.3.28. This is due to the ajax_ayi_action() handler only applying strip_tags(esc_sql()) — with no allow-list — to the attacker-controlled $_POST['type'] and $_POST['postid'] values before forwarding them to update_ayi_data(), which calls update_user_meta($current_user->ID, $rsvp_args['type'], $posts). By passing type=wp_capabilities and postid=administrator, an attacker writes ['subscriber'=>true,'administrator'=>'administrator'] into their own wp_capabilities user meta; WP_User::get_role_caps() then treats the 'administrator' array key as an active role on the next request. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to Administrator.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-11616 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-11616
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/events-for-... WEB
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/events-for-geodirectory/tags/2.3.28/includes/class-geodir-event-ayi.php#L154
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/events-for-... WEB
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/events-for-geodirectory/tags/2.3.28/includes/class-geodir-event-ayi.php#L357
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset WEB
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=3533585%40events-for-geodirectory&new=3533585%40events-for-geodirectory&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=
www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulner... WEB
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/11ba187b-1fe4-4077-ad9d-a07660133e91?source=cve

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-11616?
CVE-2026-11616 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2026-11616?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-11616?
CVE-2026-11616 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-11616?
CVE-2026-11616 is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management (The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-11616?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-j857-hxgm-cvxf",
  "modified" : "2026-06-09T09:32:07Z",
  "published" : "2026-06-09T09:32:07Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-11616" ],
  "details" : "The Events Calendar for GeoDirectory plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in versions up to and including 2.3.28. This is due to the ajax_ayi_action() handler  only applying strip_tags(esc_sql()) — with no allow-list — to the attacker-controlled $_POST['type'] and $_POST['postid'] values before forwarding them to update_ayi_data(), which calls update_user_meta($current_user->ID, $rsvp_args['type'], $posts). By passing type=wp_capabilities and postid=administrator, an attacker writes ['subscriber'=>true,'administrator'=>'administrator'] into their own wp_capabilities user meta; WP_User::get_role_caps() then treats the 'administrator' array key as an active role on the next request. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to Administrator.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-11616"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/events-for-geodirectory/tags/2.3.28/includes/class-geodir-event-ayi.php#L154"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/events-for-geodirectory/tags/2.3.28/includes/class-geodir-event-ayi.php#L357"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=3533585%40events-for-geodirectory&new=3533585%40events-for-geodirectory&sfp_email=&sfph_mail="
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/11ba187b-1fe4-4077-ad9d-a07660133e91?source=cve"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-269" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-06-09T09:16:28Z"
  }
}