Advanced IP Blocker <= 8.13.13 — Unauthenticated Authentication Bypass via Missing Step-1 Binding to 2FA Login Handler

Am I affected?

• Check your version: in wp-admin go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and read the version under Advanced IP Blocker.
• No admin access? Run a passive check of your site. It reads public files only.
• No account is needed to exploit this. Treat any exposed site on an affected version as at risk.

What to do

1. Update to version 8.13.14, or a newer patched version
2. Rotate administrator passwords and application secrets if the site ran a vulnerable version while publicly reachable.
3. Watch Advanced IP Blocker to get an email when the next vulnerability is published.

Advisory

Source description from Wordfence Intelligence, credited to Wordfence PRISM.

The Advanced IP Blocker plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass in all versions up to, and including, 8.13.13 The vulnerability exists because `handle_login_action()` performs no server-side check — via transient, session marker, or equivalent — that a requester completed step-1 password authentication before processing a step-2 TOTP submission for the POSTed `user_id`; compounding this, an error branch in the function unconditionally mints a fresh `advaipbl-2fa-interim-{user_id}` nonce and delivers it in a `Location` header to any unauthenticated caller, after which `display_2fa_login_form_step_2()` renders a valid `advaipbl-2fa-verify-{user_id}` nonce in HTML — both nonces computed against a fixed `uid=0` empty-session context and therefore fully reusable by the attacker across subsequent requests. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to bypass authentication entirely for any 2FA-enabled account, including administrators, by brute-forcing an unthrottled 6-digit TOTP code (no attempt counter, no account lockout, and no `wp_login_failed` firing) and receiving a fully authenticated session cookie via `wp_set_auth_cookie` without ever supplying the account password, resulting in complete site takeover. Exploitation requires only a known `user_id` for an account that has the plugin's 2FA feature enabled.

Exploits & references

Proof-of-concept & detection

No public proof-of-concept or detection template is known for this vulnerability.

Advisories & patches

• Advisorywordfence.com

Related CVEs

Timeline

1. Oct 9, 2026

   CVE published

   Severity critical, CVSS 9.8

2. Nov 13, 2026

   Record last updated