CVE-2026-97637: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability
CRITICALCVE-2026-97637 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-287: Improper Authentication) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when when an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.
CVE-2026-97637 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 9.8
The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
How to Fix CVE-2026-97637
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.
Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
mvn dependency:treeHow to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-97637, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:
mvn dependency:treeAnalyze 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-287: Improper Authentication, where when an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. 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
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-97637?
Which Software versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2026-97637?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-97637?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-97637?
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-97637?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-pmrp-gw7x-5x4r",
"modified" : "2026-10-02T09:31:21Z",
"published" : "2026-10-02T09:31:21Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-97637" ],
"details" : "The JSON API Auth plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via Cached Session Cookie Disclosure in all versions up to, and including, 3.1.2. The vulnerability exists because the required PI-Media/json-api parent plugin caches controller dispatch results in transients keyed solely by URI and query string, ignoring HTTP method and POST body; this causes the `generate_auth_cookie()` endpoint — which embeds a live WordPress `logged_in` cookie produced by `wp_generate_auth_cookie()` directly in its JSON response body — to serve that cached authenticated response to any subsequent unauthenticated GET request to the same URI. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to retrieve a valid Administrator `logged_in` session cookie from the cached response and use it to fully authenticate as the site Administrator, including via the same plugin's `get_currentuserinfo` endpoint and any cookie-authenticated controller action. Exploitation requires the PI-Media/json-api parent plugin to be installed and active with the Auth controller enabled, and a legitimate Administrator must have POSTed to `/api/auth/generate_auth_cookie/` within the preceding 24-hour cache TTL; the nominal HTTPS enforcement gate present in `Auth.php` is trivially bypassed by supplying `insecure=cool` as a request parameter.",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
} ],
"affected" : [ ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97637"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/json-api-auth/tags/3.1.2/controllers/Auth.php#L104"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/json-api-auth/tags/3.1.2/controllers/Auth.php#L28"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/json-api-auth/tags/3.1.2/controllers/Auth.php#L66"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/json-api-auth/tags/3.1.2/controllers/Auth.php#L77"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/json-api-auth/tags/3.1.2/json-api-auth.php#L65"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3712939%40json-api-auth&new=3712939%40json-api-auth"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/f2fdf8bf-7f53-4579-9a1f-be7b3ef1ca50?source=cve"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-287" ],
"severity" : "CRITICAL",
"github_reviewed" : false,
"github_reviewed_at" : null,
"nvd_published_at" : "2026-10-02T08:17:05Z"
}
}