CVE-2026-49782

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-49782 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Elementor Website Builder plugin for WordPress, affecting versions from n/a through 4.1.0. This flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially leading to unauthorized data access or modification. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 5.4 (Medium), with an EPSS score of 0.0% indicating low exploitation likelihood at this time. No public proof-of-concept (PoC) or exploit code has been released, and no official patch is available from the vendor.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects the Elementor Website Builder plugin, distributed through the official WordPress plugin repository. As a WordPress plugin, it is part of the broader WordPress ecosystem and is not related to NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby packages. Users should verify the integrity of their plugin installation and monitor for updates from the vendor.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 5.4 (Medium)
• Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
• Attack Vector: Network
• Attack Complexity: Low
• Privileges Required: None
• User Interaction: None
• Scope: Unchanged
• Confidentiality Impact: Low
• Integrity Impact: Low
• Availability Impact: None

The vulnerability is exploitable remotely without authentication, making it accessible to any attacker with network access to the WordPress site. The low complexity and lack of user interaction increase the risk, though the impact is limited to low confidentiality and integrity breaches.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the Elementor Website Builder plugin's access control mechanisms. Specifically, the plugin fails to properly validate user permissions when processing certain AJAX requests or REST API endpoints. This allows an unauthenticated attacker to perform actions that should require administrative or editor-level privileges.

Root Cause: The plugin uses incorrect capability checks or omits them entirely in some functions, leading to Missing Authorization (CWE-862). Attackers can exploit this by sending crafted HTTP requests to vulnerable endpoints, bypassing authentication checks.

Attack Vector: An attacker can send a specially crafted request to the WordPress site, targeting Elementor's AJAX handlers or REST API routes. For example, the endpoint /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with specific action parameters may be vulnerable.

Impact: Successful exploitation could allow an attacker to:

• View or modify Elementor templates and settings.
• Access sensitive configuration data.
• Perform unauthorized actions on the site, such as creating or deleting content.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no official patch is available, the vulnerable code remains in versions <= 4.1.0. The following is a hypothetical example of the vulnerable code pattern and a potential fix.

Vulnerable Code (PHP):

add_action('wp_ajax_elementor_save_template', 'elementor_save_template');
add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_elementor_save_template', 'elementor_save_template');

function elementor_save_template() {
    // Missing capability check
    $template_data = $_POST['template_data'];
    // Process and save template
}

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

add_action('wp_ajax_elementor_save_template', 'elementor_save_template');
// Remove the nopriv action to require authentication

function elementor_save_template() {
    // Add capability check
    if (!current_user_can('edit_posts')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
    }
    $template_data = $_POST['template_data'];
    // Process and save template
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Prerequisites:

• A WordPress site with Elementor Website Builder version <= 4.1.0.
• Network access to the target site.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify vulnerable endpoints by analyzing Elementor's AJAX actions. Common actions include elementor_save_template, elementor_get_template, or elementor_ajax.
2. Send a crafted HTTP POST request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with the vulnerable action parameter.
3. Example using curl:

   curl -X POST http://target.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php \
     -d "action=elementor_save_template&template_data=malicious_data"
   

4. If successful, the server will process the request without authentication, allowing unauthorized actions.

Note: No public exploit code is available; this is a conceptual demonstration.

Blue Team

Detection and Response:

• Monitor for unusual AJAX requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with Elementor-specific actions from unauthenticated users.
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block requests to vulnerable endpoints without proper authentication.
• Use the detection rules provided in the Detection Engineering section.

Hunting Queries:

• Search for HTTP requests with action=elementor_* parameters from IPs not associated with authenticated users.
• Look for 403 errors followed by successful requests to the same endpoint, indicating potential bypass attempts.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • HTTP POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=elementor_* parameters from unauthenticated sources.
  • Unusual patterns in AJAX requests, such as repeated attempts to access template data.
• File IOCs:
  • Modified or new Elementor template files in the WordPress uploads directory (/wp-content/uploads/elementor/).
  • Unexpected changes to the wp_options table, specifically options related to Elementor settings.
• Log IOCs:
  • WordPress debug logs showing failed capability checks or unauthorized access attempts.
  • Web server access logs with requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php from suspicious IPs.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2026_49782_Elementor_Missing_Auth {
    meta:
        description = "Detects exploitation attempts for CVE-2026-49782 in Elementor Website Builder"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2026-01-01"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-49782"
    strings:
        $ajax_action = /action=elementor_[a-z_]+/
        $admin_ajax = /\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax\.php/
    condition:
        $admin_ajax and $ajax_action
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2026-49782 - Elementor Missing Authorization Exploitation
id: 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP requests targeting Elementor AJAX endpoints without authentication
author: Valters IT
date: 2026/01/01
references:
    - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-49782
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        cs-uri-query|contains: '/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'action=elementor_'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate authenticated requests from administrators
level: medium

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2026-49782 - Elementor Missing Authorization Exploitation Attempt";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"POST"; http_method;
    content:"/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"; http_uri;
    content:"action=elementor_"; http_client_body;
    classtype:attempted-admin;
    sid:1000001;
    rev:1;
    reference:cve,2026-49782;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the Elementor plugin if not critical to operations, until a patch is available.
2. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block unauthenticated requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=elementor_* parameters.
3. Restrict access to /wp-admin/ directory using IP whitelisting or VPN.

Long-term Fix:

• Monitor the Elementor plugin page for security updates. Once a patched version is released (e.g., 4.1.1 or higher), update immediately.
• Apply the principle of least privilege by ensuring all AJAX handlers include proper capability checks.

Workaround:

• Add custom code to your theme's functions.php to enforce authentication on Elementor AJAX actions:

  add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_elementor_save_template', function() {
      wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
  }, 1);
  

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers