WordPress security changelog
HIGH CVE-2026-14262 Deferred

Simple JWT Login – Allows you to use JWT on REST endpoints: Privilege escalation or authentication bypass

Simple JWT Login – Allows you to use JWT on REST endpoints is affected by privilege escalation or authentication bypass. Exploitation requires at least subscriber-level access. A successful request can grant permissions or access that the caller should not possess. The published affected range is <= 3.6.6.

CVE / CNA score 8.8 CVSS 3.1 · security@wordfence.com
NVD score Pending NVD has not published its own CVSS assessment.
Component
Simple JWT Login – Allows you to use JWT on REST endpoints.
Plugin slug
simple-jwt-login
Affected
<= 3.6.6
Safe version
> 3.6.6
Published
Jul 11, 2026
Weakness
CWE-269 — Improper Privilege Management

This CVE was published Jul 11, 2026 and is one of 4 known issues for this plugin.

What to do

Update, patch or deactivate.

Update Simple JWT Login – Allows you to use JWT on REST endpoints to a release after 3.6.6, or disable and remove it until a fixed version is available.

A safe version is available, so updating to that version or later is the preferred remediation. If an immediate update is not practical, consider a targeted application patch or temporarily restricting the affected functionality.

Deactivate only when warranted by your risk profile, or when advised by your hosting provider in the limited circumstances where the vulnerability cannot otherwise be mitigated. If you’re unsure which action is appropriate, contact Fused or your hosting provider for guidance.

Source record

Technical description

The Simple JWT Login – Allows you to use JWT on REST endpoints. plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 3.6.6 via the `payload` parameter. The vulnerability exists because `AuthenticateService::generatePayload()` only overwrites JWT payload keys whose names appear in the admin-configured `jwt_payload` list — leaving any attacker-supplied identity claims such as `email`, `id`, or `username` intact and signed into the JWT with the site's HS256 secret. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to escalate their privileges to that of an Administrator by injecting a target administrator's email address into the `payload` parameter at the `/wp-json/simple-jwt-login/v1/auth` endpoint, then redeeming the resulting JWT at the `/autologin` endpoint to obtain a fully authenticated session as that administrator.

CVE / CNA vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

Primary and upstream sources