CVE-2026-97305

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-97305 is an authorization bypass vulnerability (CWE-639, Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key) in the Themeisle "AI Chatbot for WordPress – Hyve Lite" plugin, affecting all versions up to and including 2.0.2. It allows an actor to exploit incorrectly configured access control by manipulating a user-controlled key to reach data or functionality that should be restricted to authorized users. The plugin is deployed on WordPress sites as a publicly reachable component, and no patch is currently available, leaving installations exposed until a vendor fix is released.

Technical Analysis

The vulnerability class is CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key, which the vendor/CNA describes as "Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels." This class of flaw occurs when an application relies on a client-supplied identifier — such as an object ID, a toggle, a user ID, or a configuration key — to decide whether a request is authorized, without server-side verification that the requesting principal is actually entitled to the referenced object or operation.

In this case, the affected component is the WordPress plugin "AI Chatbot for WordPress – Hyve Lite" (slug: hyve-lite), maintained by Themeisle. The vulnerable feature set is the plugin's chatbot functionality, which inherently exposes server-side endpoints and resources that respond to requests originating from the front end of a WordPress site. The NVD description does not disclose the specific parameter, endpoint, controller, or function involved, and the CNA title is empty. No file paths, class names, function names, or API routes are provided in the source data, so the precise request shape cannot be stated factually.

What can be stated with confidence from the vulnerability class is the general mechanism:

1. A protected server-side resource or operation exists inside the plugin and is intended to be accessible only to a specific set of principals (for example, an authenticated administrator or a specific chat session owner).
2. The authorization decision for that resource is influenced by an identifier or value that the client supplies — the "user-controlled key."
3. Because the server trusts that client-controlled key without properly binding it to the authenticated identity or session, an attacker who can reach the endpoint can substitute a different key value to obtain access they should not have.

Authorization bypass via user-controlled key is analogous to Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) and Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA) patterns and typically results in unauthorized read or modification of data, or invocation of privileged plugin operations. It does not by itself imply remote code execution. The "Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels" phrasing suggests that the ACL check that was present is either too permissive or evaluates the wrong value, rather than being absent entirely.

Because the plugin is distributed as a WordPress plugin, the attack surface is any WordPress installation where hyve-lite is installed and active. Plugin endpoints reachable from the public web (typically via admin-ajax.php or the plugin's own REST routes) are the realistic ingress points. The data provided does not identify a specific endpoint, so no further endpoint-level claims are made.

The severity is reinforced by the lack of a vendor patch: the "Patch Confidence: 0/4" assessment indicates no evidence of a fix from any tracked source, and no workaround is documented.

Exploitation Scenarios

No public PoC, exploit code, or Nuclei template is available for this CVE. The attack chain below is inferred strictly from the vulnerability class (CWE-639) and is described at the class level; it does not assert undocumented implementation details such as specific parameter names or endpoints.

1. Reconnaissance / target identification. An attacker enumerates WordPress sites running the hyve-lite plugin. This can be done by fingerprinting the plugin's public assets in the web root (a standard WordPress plugin path pattern) or by passively identifying sites that advertise an AI chatbot. The attacker selects a target that is running an affected version (<= 2.0.2) with the plugin active.

2. Triggering the flaw class. The attacker interacts with a plugin-exposed request path that performs a privilege- or ownership-sensitive operation. Because the authorization decision incorporates a value supplied by the requester (the user-controlled key), the attacker modifies that value — for example, pointing it at a different identifier than the one legitimately associated with their own session or account — in an attempt to reference a resource or operation they do not own or are not privileged to use. No specific parameter name is asserted; the generalized technique is key substitution in a client-controlled request field.

3. Payload / execution method. At the class level, the payload is a modified request: same endpoint, same authenticated (possibly low-privilege) session, but with the user-controlled key altered. Successful execution is indicated by the server returning data or performing an action that should have been denied to the requester under correct access control configuration. Because the flaw is an authorization logic error and not an injection defect, no shellcode, command injection payload, or file upload is required.

4. Post-exploitation impact. Depending on which resource is governed by the flawed check, the outcome is unauthorized access to plugin-managed data or unauthorized invocation of a privileged plugin operation. The provided data does not specify whether the impact is read-only, configurational, or destructive; CWE-639 impacts are typically confidentiality-first with possible integrity effects.

Because no exploitation activity is confirmed, this scenario represents plausible attack paths, not observed campaigns. There are no known threat actor associations and no evidence of exploitation in the wild as of this report.

Impact Assessment

Business impact is tied to the confidentiality and integrity of data and configuration managed by the AI Chatbot plugin on affected WordPress sites. An "authorization bypass through user-controlled key" allows a party who is not entitled to a resource to reach it by manipulating a key value, so the primary business risk is unauthorized disclosure of chatbot-related data and/or unauthorized changes to plugin configuration or state, depending on what the bypassed check protects.

Affected systems are WordPress installations hosting "AI Chatbot for WordPress – Hyve Lite" versions <= 2.0.2 with the plugin active. The blast radius is therefore limited to sites running this specific plugin, but within those sites the exposure can extend to any data or operation the vulnerable code path governs.

The NVD description declares the CWE as CWE-639 and the impact statement covers an authorization bypass. No CVSS base metrics are supplied by the source data (CVSS: N/A), so any subscore discussion would be speculative. Where a CVSS v3.1 vector is estimated above for metadata purposes, it reflects the typical profile of a network-reachable authorization bypass (AV:N, low complexity, low/known privilege) and should be treated as an estimate, not an authoritative vendor score. Enterprise exposure is further elevated because no patch exists and mitigations depend entirely on local configuration decisions.

Organizations should treat this as a medium-to-high priority for any publicly reachable WordPress site running the plugin, with prioritization scaled to the sensitivity of the data the chatbot plugin handles and the site's public exposure.

Detection Guidance

Sigma Rule

title: Potential Authorization Bypass via User-Controlled Key in Hyve Lite WordPress Plugin (CVE-2026-97305)
id: 9c3e6f1a-2b47-4a9d-8e21-5c7f0a1b4d62
status: experimental
description: Detects requests to WordPress sites targeting the hyve-lite plugin where authorization-sensitive parameters appear to be manipulated, consistent with CWE-639 authorization bypass.
references:
  - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97305
author: Threat Intelligence
date: 2026-01-01
logsource:
  category: webserver
detection:
  selection_plugin:
    cs-uri-query|contains:
      - 'hyve-lite'
      - 'hyve_lite'
  selection_sensitive:
    cs-uri-query|contains:
      - 'id='
      - 'user_id='
      - 'user='
      - 'key='
      - 'token='
      - 'chat_id='
      - 'session='
  condition: selection_plugin and selection_sensitive
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate plugin traffic that includes generic parameter names
level: medium
tags:
  - attack.t1190
  - cwe.639

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2026_97305_Hyve_Lite_AuthBypass
{
    meta:
        description = "Detects references to the hyve-lite WordPress plugin associated with CVE-2026-97305 authorization bypass (CWE-639)"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97305"
        author = "Threat Intelligence"
        date = "2026-01-01"
        severity = "medium"

    strings:
        $slug1 = "hyve-lite" ascii nocase
        $slug2 = "hyve_lite" ascii nocase
        $hdr1  = "AI Chatbot for WordPress" ascii nocase

    condition:
        any of ($slug*) or $hdr1
}

Suricata IDS Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2026-97305 Possible Authorization Bypass in Hyve Lite WordPress Plugin (CWE-639)"; flow:established,to_server; http.uri; content:"hyve-lite"; nocase; http.uri; content:"id="; nocase; http.uri; content:"user"; nocase; threshold:type both, track by_src, count 15, seconds 60; classtype:attempted-user; reference:cve,2026-97305; reference:url,nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97305; sid:202697305; rev:1;)

Elastic Detection

sequence by source.ip with maxspan=60s
  [ network where url.path : "*hyve-lite*" and url.query : "*id=*" ]
  [ network where url.path : "*hyve-lite*" and url.query : ("*user*" or "*key*" or "*token*") ]

Splunk SPL Query

index=web sourcetype=access_combined OR sourcetype=nginx OR sourcetype=apache
| eval uri=coalesce(uri_path, cs_uri_stem)
| eval qs=coalesce(uri_query, cs_uri_query)
| where (like(uri, "%hyve-lite%") OR like(uri, "%hyve_lite%"))
| where (like(qs, "%id=%") AND (like(qs, "%user%") OR like(qs, "%key=%") OR like(qs, "%token=%")))
| stats count values(qs) as suspicious_queries by src_ip, uri
| where count > 5

Wazuh OSSEC Rule

<group name="web,wordpress,hyve_lite,">
  <rule id="100305" level="10">
    <if_sid>31100</if_sid>
    <match>hyve-lite|hyve_lite</match>
    <regex>id=.*(user|key|token)</regex>
    <description>CVE-2026-97305: Possible authorization bypass via user-controlled key in Hyve Lite WordPress plugin</description>
    <mitre>
      <id>T1190</id>
    </mitre>
    <group>cwe_639,</group>
  </rule>
</group>

Mitigation & Patch Guidance

Patch confidence: 0/4 (UNPATCHED — no patch evidence from any tracked source). There is no vendor fix, no workaround, and no affected-version fix reference available as of this report.

1. Immediate mitigations.

   • If the AI chatbot functionality is not actively required, deactivate and remove the "AI Chatbot for WordPress – Hyve Lite" plugin from any exposed WordPress installation until a patched release is available.
   • If the plugin must remain active, restrict access to the plugin's endpoints at the network edge (WAF, reverse proxy, or webserver ACLs) so that only trusted users or IP ranges can reach them, and deny direct access from the public internet where operationally feasible.
   • Harden WordPress authentication: enforce least privilege for all accounts, ensure only trusted administrators can manage plugins, and remove unused or default accounts.
   • Enable detailed request logging (webserver access logs, WordPress audit logging) to support detection and forensic review if the bypass is attempted.
   • Apply virtual patching through a WAF that can inspect requests to the plugin's endpoints and block anomalous object/key references.

2. Patch / upgrade steps.

   • Monitor the Themeisle plugin page and the WordPress.org plugin repository for a patched version of hyve-lite greater than 2.0.2.
   • Once a fixed version is published, upgrade to it immediately, verify the installed version, and re-enable the plugin only after confirming the fix is in place.
   • Subscribe to Themeisle and WordPress security advisories to receive notification when the vendor fix becomes available, since current patch confidence is 0/4.

3. Long-term hardening.

   • Adopt a WordPress inventory process that records every installed plugin and its version, with automatic alerting when any plugin is unpatched or abandoned.
   • Prefer server-side authorization models that bind every resource access to the authenticated principal and never trust client-supplied keys for access-control decisions.
   • Perform regular security reviews of third-party plugins, prioritizing those that expose public endpoints.
   • Maintain defense-in-depth (WAF, rate limiting, monitoring) so that a single plugin flaw does not yield unmediated exposure of site data.

References

• NVD — CVE-2026-97305: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97305
• CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/639.html
• Themeisle — AI Chatbot for WordPress – Hyve Lite (vendor plugin distribution page) — https://wordpress.org/plugins/hyve-lite/
• CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (not currently listed at time of writing): https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
• MITRE ATT&CK T1190 — Exploit Public-Facing Application: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1190/

No known threat actor campaigns or exploit-in-the-wild evidence are associated with CVE-2026-97305 as of this report. No public PoC, exploit code, or Nuclei template is available.