CVE-2026-19598: Pods <= 3.3.9 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation via Authorization Bypass to Admin Methods via 'pods_admin' AJAX Router
- Is it exploited?
Reported, not confirmed by CISA. VulnCheck KEV lists it as exploited in the wild. CISA has not added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as of .
VulnCheck KEV lists it since . It cites 3 public reports, the first from .
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 2.3%
Down from 3.5% on .
EPSS score, percentile 83.3 of all scored records. A probability estimated by FIRST, not a report of exploitation.
- How severe?
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS v3.1 base score, given by the CNA
- What should I do?
CISA has set no required action, because the vulnerability is not in KEV.
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
- Which versions are affected?
Affected
- 2.8 through 2.8.23.3
- 2.9 through 2.9.19.3
- 3.0 through 3.0.10.3
- 3.1 through 3.1.4.1
- 3.2 through 3.2.8.2
- 3.3 through 3.3.9
Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.29, as of ; VulnCheck KEV, as of ; FIRST EPSS, as of ; CVE List, as of . About the data.
Description
Pods <= 3.3.9 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation via Authorization Bypass to Admin Methods via 'pods_admin' AJAX Router
The Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation via Authorization Bypass in all versions up to, and including, 3.3.9. The vulnerability exists because the pods_admin AJAX router funnels every access check — including the method allowlist, nonce verification, login enforcement, and capability gate — through pods_error(), which under the JSON meta-box-loader compatibility path only writes failures to the PHP error log and returns false instead of terminating the request, rendering all guards ineffective. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to escalate their privileges to Administrator or overwrite the password of any user account, including the site owner's, enabling complete site takeover, or perform another administrator action.
Source: CVE List, as of . About the data.
What to do
Advisories and patches
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
This summary is based on the CVE record as of . Check the vendor's advisory before you act: affected versions and fixes can change.
Affected products and versions
Versions by product, as listed in the CVE record (1 product)
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | 2.8 through 2.8.23.3 |
| Affected | 2.9 through 2.9.19.3 |
| Affected | 3.0 through 3.0.10.3 |
| Affected | 3.1 through 3.1.4.1 |
| Affected | 3.2 through 3.2.8.2 |
| Affected | 3.3 through 3.3.9 |
Versions not listed are: unaffected.
Source: CVE List, as of . About the data.
Weakness
CWE-863
- CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| CVE record published | |
| CVE record last updated |