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Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2026-4021

The Contest Gallery plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to an authentication bypass leading to admin account takeover in all versions up to, and including, 28.1.5.

Published Mar 24, 2026 · catalog updated Jun 17, 2026 · The Contest Gallery plugin

Check if you run it

No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-4021. EPSS is 0.73%. Act only if a listed version of The Contest Gallery plugin is installed.

Gaps on this record

  • The stored product name is a package slug. The name on this page is taken from the title (The Contest Gallery plugin).
  • No vendor fix or required action is stored. Compare the linked advisory before you change production.
Severity
High8.1
Known exploitation
Not in CISA/VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
0.73%
Remediation
Version ranges on file
Affected products
stated named in the record

The Contest Gallery plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to an authentication bypass leading to admin account takeover in all versions up to, and including, 28.1.5. This is due to the email confirmation handler in using the user's email string in a clause instead of the numeric user ID, combined with an unauthenticated key-based login endpoint in . When the non-default setting is enabled, an attacker can register with a crafted email starting with the target user ID (e.g., ), trigger the confirmation flow to overwrite the admin's via MySQL integer coercion, and then use the AJAX action to authenticate as the admin without any credentials. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to take over any WordPress administrator account and gain full site control.

Are you affected?

Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.

The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.

  • stated named in the record<= 28.1.5

How to fix CVE-2026-4021

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-4021. EPSS is 0.73%. Act only if a listed version of The Contest Gallery plugin is installed.

Which versions are affected?

Compare what you have installed with named in the record <= 28.1.5. Compare the installed version with the linked vendor advisory before you change production.

What should an analyst verify?

CWE-287: Improper Authentication. EPSS 0.73%. There is no CISA KEV listing. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Technology hubs

WordPress security

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Mar 24, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Detected

    The Contest Gallery plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to an authentication bypass leading to admin account takeover in all versions up to, and including, 28.1.5. This is due to the email confirmation handler in using the user's email string in a clause instead of the numeric user ID, combined with an unauthenticated key-based login endpoint in . When the non-default setting is enabled, an attacke

  2. Jun 17, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Updated

    The Contest Gallery plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to an authentication bypass leading to admin account takeover in all versions up to, and including, 28.1.5. This is due to the email confirmation handler in using the user's email string in a clause instead of the numeric user ID, combined with an unauthenticated key-based login endpoint in . When the non-default setting is enabled, an attacke

Sources

  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2026-4021

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2026-4021

    30-day exploitation probability 0.7%

    first.org
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2026-4021

    The Contest Gallery plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to an authentication bypass leading to admin account takeover in all versions up to, and including, 28.1.5. This is due to the email confirmation handler in using the

    nvd.nist.gov

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Oct 18, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.