UsersWP <= 1.2.78 — Unauthenticated Account Access via Predictable Dummy User Password Disclosed through Registration Form Hash

Am I affected?

• Check your version: in wp-admin go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and read the version under UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP.
• 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 1.2.79, or a newer patched version
2. Rotate administrator passwords and application secrets if the site ran a vulnerable version while publicly reachable.
3. Watch UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP to get an email when the next vulnerability is published.

Advisory

Source description from Wordfence Intelligence, credited to Kuba.

The UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized account access via Use of Predictable Password in all versions up to, and including, 1.2.78 The vulnerability exists because `get_dummy_user_passowrd()` derives the shared password for all 25 built-in dummy user accounts as the first 15 characters of `substr(hash('SHA256', AUTH_KEY . site_url()), 0, 25)`, while the full 25-character value of that same hash is simultaneously embedded in the hidden `uwp_register_hash` field rendered on every registration form response — reachable without authentication via both the public `/register/` page and the `wp_ajax_nopriv_uwp_ajax_register_form` AJAX handler, even when user registration is disabled. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to recover the dummy user password directly from a single HTTP request and use it to authenticate as any of the 25 built-in dummy accounts (such as antawn, chynna, or kiki) through `wp-login.php`, potentially achieving privilege escalation if any dummy account holds an elevated role. Exploitation requires that an administrator has previously created dummy users via the plugin's Tools page.

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 30, 2026

   CVE published

   Severity medium, CVSS 6.5

2. Nov 13, 2026

   Record last updated