CVE-2026-80099 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) Improper Authentication vulnerability. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-80099 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Various Newfold Plugins Various Versions - Unauthenticated Authentication Bypass via Bearer Token Validation with Empty Secret
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-80099.
Description
Several Newfold plugins are vulnerable to Authentication Bypass. The vulnerability exists because the plugins bundle the wp-module-data module. In the module, the authenticate() method — registered on the rest_authentication_errors filter and therefore evaluated for every unauthenticated REST API request — performs an HMAC-style Bearer token comparison that degenerates when HiiveConnection::get_auth_token() returns false: PHP coerces strrev(false) to strrev(''), collapsing the secret salt to the publicly known constant hash('sha256', '') = e3b0c44..., while all remaining hash inputs (HTTP method, request URL, raw request body, and the X-Timestamp header) remain fully attacker-controlled. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to compute a valid Bearer token entirely offline, pass the token equality check, and have wp_set_current_user() invoked against the first administrator returned by get_users(['role' => 'administrator']), granting full administrator-level access and enabling arbitrary REST API operations such as creating new administrator accounts and achieving complete site takeover. Vulnerable versions are WP Plugin Crazy Domains (<= 2.5.2), WP Plugin Web (<= 2.3.4), WP Plugin Hostgator (<= 3.1.0), WP Plugin Bluehost (<= 4.17.1). The affected module is vulnerable in versions up to, and including, 2.9.4.
Detection & mitigation playbook
VulnerabilityDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for the affected component. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Remediation status
No patched version of the affected component has shipped for CVE-2026-80099 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Mitigate without a patch
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-80099 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2026-80099. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-80099 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-80099 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.