Security Optimizer <= 1.6.8 — Two-Factor Authentication via Brute Force
CVE-2026-118185Published · Updated Action summary
Affected: ≤1.6.8Update to 1.6.9 or newer
All remediation steps- Severity
- Medium4.3
- CVSS
- 4.3CVSS 3.1 · CNA (Wordfence)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:NWhat does this vector mean?
AV:NAttack vector- Network
AC:LAttack complexity- Low
PR:LPrivileges required- Low
UI:NUser interaction- None
S:UScope- Unchanged
C:NConfidentiality- None
I:LIntegrity- Low
A:NAvailability- None
- Required access
- Unknown
- Exploit prediction (EPSS)
- 0.3% chance in 30 days21th percentile
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
On this page8
Am I affected?
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin sg-security
- Affected≤ 1.6.8
- Patched in1.6.9
Update to 1.6.9 or newer.
You are affected if you run ≤ 1.6.8. Version 1.6.9 and later are not affected by this issue.
- Check your version: in wp-admin go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and read the version under Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin.
- No admin access? Run a passive check of your site. It reads public files only.
What to do
- Update to version 1.6.9, or a newer patched version
- Rotate administrator passwords and application secrets if the site ran a vulnerable version while publicly reachable.
- Watch Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin to get an email when the next vulnerability is published.
Advisory
Source description from Wordfence Intelligence, credited to Karthik Ramakrishnan.
The Security Optimizer plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Two-Factor Authentication Bypass in all versions up to, and including, 1.6.8. This is due to missing rate-limiting on 2FA code submission endpoints, allowing unlimited guesses without triggering the existing login-attempt throttle. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to brute-force the two-factor authentication code submitted during a pending login challenge and gain unauthorized access to accounts. Two-factor authentication must be enabled for the target user role in the plugin settings, and the attacker must already know the target user's password.
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
More in Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin
All 8| Severity | Vulnerability | CVE | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium5.3 | 2-Factor Authentication Bypass ≤1.6.6Update to 1.6.7 | CVE-2026-82228 | |
| Medium5.3 | IP Allowlist Bypass ≤1.6.4Update to 1.6.5 | CVE-2026-13342 | |
| Medium5.3 | Missing Authorization ≤1.5.8Update to 1.5.9 | CVE-2025-66121 | |
| Medium4.3 | Missing Authorization via hide_notice() ≤1.5.0Update to 1.5.1 | CVE-2024-38774 | |
| High7.2 | Authenticated (Administrator+) SQL Injection ≤1.3.0Update to 1.3.1 | CVE-2023-0234 |
- Medium5.32-Factor Authentication Bypass
≤1.6.6Update to 1.6.7
- Medium5.3IP Allowlist Bypass
≤1.6.4Update to 1.6.5
- Medium5.3Missing Authorization
≤1.5.8Update to 1.5.9
- Medium4.3Missing Authorization via hide_notice()
≤1.5.0Update to 1.5.1
- High7.2Authenticated (Administrator+) SQL Injection
≤1.3.0Update to 1.3.1
Timeline
CVE published
Severity medium, CVSS 4.3
Record last updated
Sources & licenses
Wordfence record- Vulnerability data
- Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. Licensed under the CC BY-SA 4.0.
- CVE® identifiers
- Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. Used under the CVE Program. CVE® is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation.
- CVSS / CWE
- National Vulnerability Database (NVD), shown unmodified. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System by FIRST.org.
- VulnCrest content
- Summary, remediation guidance and page layout © VulnCrest. Not sourced from NVD.