CVE-2026-89426: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-mhvq-rh33-27cf
CVSS 8.8
CWE-269
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-89426 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-2026-89426 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-89426
GHSA Identifier GHSA-mhvq-rh33-27cf
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-2026-89426

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-2026-89426, 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 Knit Pay – Cashfree, Instamojo, Razorpay, PayPal and more plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 9.6.1.0. This is due to the `maybe_update_user_role()` function reading the target role directly from an attacker-controlled Gravity Forms entry field — configured via the feed's `user_role_field_id` — and passing it to `WP_User::set_role()` without validating the supplied value against an allowlist of permitted roles. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to administrator by tampering with the hidden role field value at form submission time. Exploitation is further enabled by the fact that $0 orders are synchronously marked as SUCCESS during form submission without requiring a real payment, and when no GF User Registration user can be resolved, the role assignment target falls back to `$lead['created_by']` — the currently authenticated submitter's own user ID — making any authenticated form submitter an eligible exploitation target.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-89426 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89426
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/ta... WEB
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.4.0.1/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Extension.php#L381
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/ta... WEB
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.4.0.1/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Extension.php#L384
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/ta... WEB
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.4.0.1/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Extension.php#L989
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/ta... WEB
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.4.0.1/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Processor.php#L493
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/ta... WEB
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.6.1.0/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Extension.php#L381
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/ta... WEB
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.6.1.0/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Extension.php#L384
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/ta... WEB
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.6.1.0/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Extension.php#L989
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/ta... WEB
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.6.1.0/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Processor.php#L493
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset WEB
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3706862%40knit-pay&new=3706862%40knit-pay
www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulner... WEB
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/ee5df686-7bf8-42cc-9356-92570bd02355?source=cve

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-89426?
CVE-2026-89426 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-2026-89426?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-89426?
CVE-2026-89426 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-2026-89426?
CVE-2026-89426 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-2026-89426?
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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-mhvq-rh33-27cf",
  "modified" : "2026-09-25T09:31:08Z",
  "published" : "2026-09-25T09:31:08Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-89426" ],
  "details" : "The Knit Pay – Cashfree, Instamojo, Razorpay, PayPal and more plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 9.6.1.0. This is due to the `maybe_update_user_role()` function reading the target role directly from an attacker-controlled Gravity Forms entry field — configured via the feed's `user_role_field_id` — and passing it to `WP_User::set_role()` without validating the supplied value against an allowlist of permitted roles. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to administrator by tampering with the hidden role field value at form submission time. Exploitation is further enabled by the fact that $0 orders are synchronously marked as SUCCESS during form submission without requiring a real payment, and when no GF User Registration user can be resolved, the role assignment target falls back to `$lead['created_by']` — the currently authenticated submitter's own user ID — making any authenticated form submitter an eligible exploitation target.",
  "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-2026-89426"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.4.0.1/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Extension.php#L381"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.4.0.1/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Extension.php#L384"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.4.0.1/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Extension.php#L989"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.4.0.1/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Processor.php#L493"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.6.1.0/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Extension.php#L381"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.6.1.0/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Extension.php#L384"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.6.1.0/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Extension.php#L989"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/knit-pay/tags/9.6.1.0/packages/wp-pay-extensions/gravityforms/src/Processor.php#L493"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3706862%40knit-pay&new=3706862%40knit-pay"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/ee5df686-7bf8-42cc-9356-92570bd02355?source=cve"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-269" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-09-25T08:16:40Z"
  }
}