HomeWordPress vulnerabilitiesJSON API Auth
JSON API Auth vulnerabilities
JSON API Auth has 1 known vulnerability in this database. The most recent published record is dated 2 Oct 2026.
- Known vulnerabilities
- 1
- Active installs
- 600+
- Latest version
- 3.1.3
- Last updated
- 25 Sep 2026
- Most recent
- 2 Oct 2026
Find it in your WordPress dashboard under Plugins. Severity is based on the CVSS score published with the CVE where one is available.
| Vulnerability | Severity | Affected | Fix | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authentication bypass CVE-2026-97637 | Critical 9.8 | Up to 3.1.2 | Fixed in a later version (latest 3.1.3) | 5 d ago |
Read the published descriptions
- CVE-2026-97637, 2 Oct 2026
- 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. CVE record
What to do if you run JSON API Auth
If you run JSON API Auth, open WordPress and check the installed version in Plugins. Compare it with the affected versions in the vulnerability record. If a fixed version is available, take a current backup and update to that version or the latest supported release.
If no fixed version exists, consider disabling and removing the plugin or replacing it with a maintained alternative. After dealing with the affected software, check administrator users, unexpected file changes, redirects, unfamiliar pages and security logs for signs that the site may already have been altered.
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