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CVE-2026-97637: JSON API Auth

Severity

9.8 (CRITICAL)

Vendor

PARORREY

Affected versions

0 through 3.1.2

Patch status

Unknown

Published

2026-10-02T08:17:05.660

Modified

2026-10-02T08:17:05.660

Why it matters

This matters because the affected product may be exposed on public websites. A vulnerable plugin can create a direct path to site compromise, malicious code deployment, or data theft.

Recommended admin actions

• Prioritize validation immediately due to critical CVSS severity.
• Check whether the affected WordPress plugin or theme is installed.
• Update, disable, or remove the affected component if present.
• Treat internet-facing systems as higher priority.
• Review logs for suspicious activity related to the affected application or component.

Technical summary

The JSON API Auth plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via Cached Session Cookie Disclosure in all versions up to, and including, 3.1.2. The vulnerability exists because the required PI-Media/json-api parent plugin caches controller dispatch results in transients keyed solely by URI and query string, ignoring HTTP method and POST body; this causes the `generate_auth_cookie()` endpoint — which embeds a live WordPress `logged_in` cookie produced by `wp_generate_auth_cookie()` directly in its JSON response body — to serve that cached authenticated response to any subsequent unauthenticated GET request to the same URI. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to retrieve a valid Administrator `logged_in` session cookie from the cached response and use it to fully authenticate as the site Administrator, including via the same plugin's `get_currentuserinfo` endpoint and any cookie-authenticated controller action. Exploitation requires the PI-Media/json-api parent plugin to be installed and active with the Auth controller enabled, and a legitimate Administrator must have POSTed to `/api/auth/generate_auth_cookie/` within the preceding 24-hour cache TTL; the nominal HTTPS enforcement gate present in `Auth.php` is trivially bypassed by supplying `insecure=cool` as a request parameter.

View the official NVD record for CVE-2026-97637

CVE data is sourced from NVD/CNA records and optional enrichment. Validate against the vendor advisory before taking production action.