CVE-2025-67998: 
WordPress vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-67998 is an Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel vulnerability (CWE-288) in the Miraculous Elementor WordPress plugin by kamleshyadav. It affects all versions through 2.0.7 and was published on February 20, 2026. The vulnerability allows low-privileged authenticated attackers (Subscriber-level) to abuse authentication mechanisms and perform actions reserved for higher-privileged users, potentially gaining administrative access. It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (High) (Patchstack, Red Hat CVE).

The vulnerability is classified as CWE-288 (Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel), meaning the plugin fails to properly enforce authentication controls and allows access through an unprotected alternate path or channel. An attacker with at minimum Subscriber-level WordPress credentials can exploit this flaw over the network without user interaction or elevated complexity, abusing the plugin's authentication logic to escalate privileges. The vulnerability was discovered and reported by researcher Phat RiO on November 26, 2025, and disclosed by Patchstack on February 10, 2026 (Patchstack).

Successful exploitation allows a low-privileged attacker (e.g., a registered Subscriber) to perform actions normally restricted to administrators, potentially gaining full administrative control of the affected WordPress site. This could result in high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts — including unauthorized data access, content modification, plugin/theme installation, or complete site takeover. The vulnerability is considered suitable for mass-exploit campaigns targeting WordPress sites at scale, regardless of site traffic or popularity (Patchstack).

As of the available data, there is no public proof-of-concept exploit and no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation. The EPSS score is approximately 0.024% (0.000240), indicating a currently low probability of exploitation in the near term. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. However, Patchstack classifies it as high priority and notes that broken authentication vulnerabilities of this type are frequently leveraged in mass WordPress exploit campaigns (Patchstack, Red Hat CVE).

1. Reconnaissance: Identify WordPress sites running the Miraculous Elementor plugin (version ≤ 2.0.7) using tools like WPScan, Shodan, or by checking publicly accessible readme.txt files at /wp-content/plugins/miraculous-el/readme.txt.
2. Obtain low-privileged access: Register or obtain a Subscriber-level account on the target WordPress site (many sites allow open registration).
3. Identify alternate authentication path: Analyze the plugin's registered REST API endpoints, AJAX actions, or admin-ajax handlers that lack proper capability checks, which constitute the alternate path or channel.
4. Send crafted request: Issue an authenticated HTTP request (with Subscriber-level nonce/cookie) to the vulnerable endpoint, bypassing the intended privilege check to invoke privileged functionality.
5. Escalate privileges or perform unauthorized actions: Use the bypassed authentication to execute administrative actions such as creating admin accounts, modifying site settings, or installing malicious plugins/themes (Patchstack).

• Logs: WordPress access logs showing authenticated requests from Subscriber-level users to admin-only REST API endpoints or wp-admin/admin-ajax.php actions registered by the miraculous-el plugin; unexpected privilege escalation events in WordPress audit logs.
• File System: Presence of newly created administrator accounts not provisioned by site admins; unexpected plugin or theme installations; modified wp-config.php or core files.
• Network: Repeated POST requests to /wp-json/ endpoints or admin-ajax.php with miraculous-el-related action parameters from low-privileged user sessions.
• WordPress Database: New entries in wp_users or wp_usermeta tables reflecting unexpected admin-role assignments; changes to site options (wp_options) not initiated by known administrators.

The vendor has released version 2.0.8 of the Miraculous Elementor plugin, which patches this vulnerability — users should update immediately. If an immediate update is not possible, consider deactivating and removing the plugin until the patch can be applied. Patchstack users benefit from a virtual patching/mitigation rule that blocks exploitation attempts without requiring a plugin update. Additionally, site administrators should review access logs for suspicious authentication activity and restrict open user registration if not required (Patchstack).

Patchstack, which coordinated disclosure, flagged this as a high-priority vulnerability and issued a virtual mitigation rule for its users, noting that broken authentication flaws of this class are commonly exploited in mass WordPress campaigns. The vulnerability was also covered in the Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report for the week of February 9–15, 2026 (Wordfence Report, Patchstack).