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Vulnerability · Published Oct 16, 2026 · Assigned by Wordfence

CVE-2026-109400InstaWP Connect <= 0.1.4.1 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via Role-as-Capability Admin Page and API Key Disclosure via 'instawp_sync_tab_roles' Role-as-Capability Setting

High 7.5

In plain English

A high-severity privilege mismanagement in InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration from instawp. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.3% (higher than 28% of all known vulnerabilities).

Severity (CVSS 3.1)7.5High
Exploit odds (30 days)0.3%top 72.4% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

The InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 0.1.4.1 This is due to the plugin registering its admin page via `add_management_page()` using a role name returned by `InstaWP_Setting::get_allowed_role()` as the required capability — which WordPress resolves as a real capability match for any user holding that role — combined with `generate_section_field()` rendering the master API key from the `instawp_api_options` option directly as the `value` attribute of a plain-text HTML input with no additional `manage_options` or equivalent capability check. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access and above to read the plaintext master API key, use its SHA-256-derived secret as a bearer token accepted by the plugin's REST API `validate_api_request()`, and call `POST /wp-json/instawp-connect/v2/auto-login` to mint a 30-second single-use login URL that sets an administrator authentication cookie — fully escalating their privileges. Exploitation requires the site to be actively connected to InstaWP and an administrator to have added the attacker's role to the plugin's Sync Tab Access list (`instawp_sync_tab_roles`); notably, the settings tab suppression logic only hides the tab when `administrator` is absent from the list entirely, meaning a mixed configuration retaining administrator alongside a lower role still serves the full settings page — including the API key — to the lower-privileged user.

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
instawp InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration 0 – through 0.1.4.1

Weakness: CWE-269 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References