Unauthenticated option-overwrite allows enabling registration and creating admin accounts, enabling full takeover of many WordPress sites; broad web impact.
CVE-2026-85681
Unauthenticated option overwrite in WP Component plugin enables full WordPress site takeover
Is CVE-2026-85681 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-85681 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.28% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-85681?
CVE-2026-85681 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2026-85681?
Not known from our data. No patch reference has been recorded for CVE-2026-85681, which is not the same as no patch existing — a fix may have shipped without a tagged reference, or after this record was written. The vendor advisory is the only authority on whether a fix exists, and mitigations may be available regardless.
What does CVE-2026-85681 affect?
CVE-2026-85681 affects WP Component plugin <= 2.2.4, WordPress single-site installations, Hosted WordPress sites using the plugin. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-85681?
Deactivate/remove plugin; disable user registration; apply vendor patch ASAP.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Unauthenticated attackers can overwrite site options, enable registration, create admin users and fully compromise sites.
Immediate action required
- affected<= 2.2.4
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.