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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2026-9187 zealopensource CVE debrief

The Abandoned Contact Form 7 plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized arbitrary post deletion in versions up to, and including, 2.2. This is due to a missing capability check and missing nonce validation in the action__remove_abandoned() function, which is registered to both the wp_ajax_remove_abandoned and wp_ajax_nopriv_remove_abandoned hooks. The handler takes a user-supplied recover_id parameter from $_POST and passes it directly to wp_delete_post() with the force-delete flag set to true, without verifying that the ID belongs to the plugin's own cf7af_data post type. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to permanently delete arbitrary posts, pages, or other content on the affected site by sending a single admin-ajax.

Vendor
zealopensource
Product
Abandoned Contact Form 7
CVSS
MEDIUM 5.3
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2026-06-16
Original CVE updated
2026-06-16
Advisory published
2026-06-16
Advisory updated
2026-06-16

Who should care

Users of the Abandoned Contact Form 7 plugin for WordPress, version 2.2 or earlier.

Technical summary

The Abandoned Contact Form 7 plugin for WordPress contains a vulnerability that allows for unauthorized arbitrary post deletion. The vulnerability exists due to a missing capability check and nonce validation in the action__remove_abandoned() function. This function is registered to both wp_ajax_remove_abandoned and wp_ajax_nopriv_remove_abandoned hooks, allowing unauthenticated attackers to delete arbitrary posts, pages, or other content by sending a single admin-ajax request.

Defensive priority

High

Recommended defensive actions

  • Update the Abandoned Contact Form 7 plugin to a version that fixes the vulnerability.
  • Restrict access to the admin-ajax endpoint to prevent unauthorized requests.

Evidence notes

The vulnerability was reported by [email protected].

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2026-9187 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-9187

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2026-9187 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-9187

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.