Executive Summary

CVE-2026-39485 is a Broken Access Control vulnerability found in the WordPress Youtube Embed Plus plugin versions up to and including 14.2.4.

This vulnerability arises from missing authorization, authentication, or nonce token checks in certain plugin functions, which allows unprivileged users to perform actions that normally require higher privileges.

It is classified under the OWASP Top 10 category A1: Broken Access Control and has a CVSS severity score of 4.3, indicating a low severity impact.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability allows users with only subscriber-level privileges to exploit the plugin and perform unauthorized actions that require higher privileges.

Although the severity is considered low, such vulnerabilities can be used in mass-exploit campaigns targeting thousands of websites indiscriminately.

If exploited, it could lead to unauthorized changes or actions within the affected WordPress site, potentially compromising site integrity or functionality.

The issue was fixed in version 14.2.5, so updating to this or later versions is strongly recommended to mitigate the risk.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Detection Guidance

The CVE-2026-39485 vulnerability is a broken access control issue in the Youtube Embed Plus WordPress plugin versions up to 14.2.4. Detection involves identifying if your WordPress site is running a vulnerable version of this plugin.

Since the vulnerability allows unprivileged users (subscriber-level) to perform unauthorized actions, monitoring for unusual privilege escalation attempts or unauthorized actions in the plugin's functionality could indicate exploitation.

Specific commands are not provided in the available resources. However, you can check the installed plugin version using WP-CLI with the command: `wp plugin list` and verify if 'youtube-embed-plus' is installed and its version is less than or equal to 14.2.4.

Additionally, reviewing web server logs for suspicious requests targeting the Youtube Embed Plus plugin endpoints or unusual POST requests from subscriber-level users may help detect exploitation attempts.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Mitigation Strategies

The primary and recommended mitigation step is to update the Youtube Embed Plus WordPress plugin to version 14.2.5 or later, where the vulnerability has been fixed.

If immediate updating is not possible, consider restricting subscriber-level user capabilities temporarily to limit potential exploitation.

Using automatic update tools such as Patchstack's automatic updates for vulnerable plugins can facilitate rapid mitigation.

Regularly monitor your site for suspicious activity and ensure that your WordPress installation and all plugins are kept up to date to reduce exposure to similar vulnerabilities.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Compliance Impact

The provided information does not specify any direct impact of the CVE-2026-39485 vulnerability on compliance with common standards and regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0