CVE-2026-57619

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-57619 is a Sensitive Data Exposure vulnerability in the Elementor Website Builder plugin for WordPress, affecting versions up to and including 4.1.3. This vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to access sensitive data, potentially exposing internal configuration details, user information, or other confidential data stored by the plugin. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium), with a vector indicating network-based, low-complexity exploitation requiring no privileges or user interaction. As of this report, no official patch has been released, and no public proof-of-concept (PoC) code is available. The EPSS score is 0.0%, suggesting low exploitation activity in the wild, but the risk remains significant due to the widespread use of Elementor.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects the Elementor Website Builder plugin, which is distributed through the official WordPress plugin repository. As a WordPress plugin, it is not managed via NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby package managers. However, the risk extends to the WordPress ecosystem, where compromised plugins can lead to site-wide data breaches. Administrators should verify the integrity of their plugin installations and monitor for unauthorized modifications.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 6.5 (Medium)
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N) – Exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L) – No special conditions required.
• Privileges Required: None (PR:N) – No authentication needed.
• User Interaction: None (UI:N) – No user action required.
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U) – Impact confined to the vulnerable component.
• Confidentiality Impact: High (C:H) – Sensitive data exposure.
• Integrity Impact: None (I:N) – No data modification.
• Availability Impact: None (A:N) – No service disruption.

Threat Level: Medium. While the CVSS score is moderate, the potential for sensitive data exposure in a widely-used plugin like Elementor elevates the risk. The lack of a patch and public PoC suggests that attackers may be actively researching or developing exploits.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the Elementor Website Builder plugin (version <= 4.1.3) and involves improper handling of sensitive data. The plugin likely exposes internal data through an insecure API endpoint, debug logs, or misconfigured AJAX handlers. Attackers can exploit this by sending crafted HTTP requests to retrieve data such as:

• Database credentials or connection strings.
• API keys or tokens.
• User session data or personal identifiable information (PII).
• Internal file paths or configuration details.

The exact mechanism is not publicly disclosed, but common patterns in WordPress plugin vulnerabilities include:

• Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR): Accessing private data by manipulating parameters.
• Information Disclosure via Debug Mode: Exposed debug logs or error messages.
• Unprotected REST API Endpoints: Missing permission checks on REST routes.

Given the CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N), the vulnerability is likely exploitable via a simple HTTP GET or POST request to a specific URL without authentication.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no official patch is available, a direct code comparison cannot be provided. However, based on the vulnerability type, the following hypothetical example illustrates the issue:

Vulnerable Code (Elementor <= 4.1.3):

// Example of an insecure AJAX handler
add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_elementor_get_config', 'elementor_get_config');
function elementor_get_config() {
    // No permission check
    $config = get_option('elementor_config');
    wp_send_json($config);
}

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_elementor_get_config', 'elementor_get_config');
function elementor_get_config() {
    // Added permission check
    if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
    }
    $config = get_option('elementor_config');
    wp_send_json($config);
}

The patched version would include proper capability checks (e.g., current_user_can()) or nonce verification to prevent unauthorized access.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Prerequisites:

• Target WordPress site running Elementor <= 4.1.3.
• Network access to the target.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable endpoint. Common Elementor endpoints include:
   • /wp-json/elementor/v1/...
   • /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=elementor_...
2. Send a crafted request to retrieve sensitive data.

Example Request (Hypothetical):

curl -X GET "https://target.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=elementor_get_config" -H "User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0"

Expected Output:

{
  "api_key": "sk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxx",
  "db_password": "supersecret123",
  "debug_log": "error: ..."
}

Note: No public exploit code is available. The above is a conceptual example.

Blue Team

Detection & Response:

1. Monitor for unusual requests to Elementor AJAX endpoints.
2. Check for unauthorized access to /wp-json/elementor/v1/ or admin-ajax.php with action=elementor_*.
3. Review server logs for 200 responses to these endpoints from unauthenticated users.
4. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block suspicious patterns.

Hunting Query (Splunk):

index=web sourcetype=access_combined
| search uri="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" action=elementor_*
| eval auth=if(mvindex(uri,1)="nopriv","unauthenticated","authenticated")
| where auth="unauthenticated"
| stats count by src_ip, uri, status

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:

  • Unusual HTTP requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=elementor_* parameters.
  • Requests to /wp-json/elementor/v1/ endpoints from unauthenticated sources.
  • Outbound data transfers containing JSON with keys like api_key, db_password, or config.

• File IOCs:

  • Modified or new files in /wp-content/plugins/elementor/ directory.
  • Unexpected debug log files (e.g., debug.log, elementor.log).

• Behavioral IOCs:

  • Sudden increase in 200 responses to AJAX endpoints from unknown IPs.
  • Unauthorized access to WordPress admin pages.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2026_57619_Elementor_DataExposure {
    meta:
        description = "Detects sensitive data exposure in Elementor plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2026-01-01"
        reference = "CVE-2026-57619"
    strings:
        $s1 = "elementor_get_config" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "api_key" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "db_password" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "debug_log" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        any of ($s*) and filesize < 10MB
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2026-57619 - Elementor Sensitive Data Exposure
id: 8a4b3c2d-1e5f-6a7b-8c9d-0e1f2a3b4c5d
status: experimental
description: Detects unauthenticated access to Elementor AJAX endpoints
author: Valters IT
date: 2026-01-01
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains: 
            - "action=elementor_"
            - "/elementor/v1/"
        cs-method: "GET"
        sc-status: 200
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate plugin updates
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2026-57619 - Elementor Sensitive Data Exposure"; flow:to_server; content:"GET"; http_method; content:"/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"; http_uri; content:"action=elementor_"; http_uri; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the Elementor plugin until a patch is available.
2. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block requests to vulnerable endpoints.
3. Restrict access to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php using IP whitelisting or .htaccess rules.

Long-term Fix:

• Monitor the Elementor plugin repository for an official patch.
• Apply the patch as soon as it is released.
• Conduct a security audit of all WordPress plugins and themes.

Workaround:

• Add the following to .htaccess to block unauthenticated AJAX requests:

<Files "admin-ajax.php">
    Require all denied
    Require ip 192.168.1.0/24
</Files>

Note: This workaround may break legitimate functionality. Test thoroughly.

Report generated by Valters IT DevSecOps & CTI Division