CVE-2026-104755WP Compress <= 7.25.00 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation to 'group'/'setting'/'value' Parameters on comms Endpoint
Updated under an hour ago ()
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It affects aresit WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization. Add what you run to find out whether that includes you.
No exploitation reported and no EPSS estimate yet.
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The WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 7.25.00 The vulnerability exists because the `start_comms` dispatcher (`wps_ic_comms::start_comms`), hooked on every front-end request, gates access only by comparing the caller-supplied `apikey` parameter against the stored plugin API key with no WordPress capability check and no nonce verification, then passes the unvalidated `group`, `setting`, and `value` parameters directly to `change_setting()`, which writes them into the `WPS_IC_SETTINGS` option without an allow-list. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to write arbitrary permission keys into the plugin's settings, causing `wps_ic_users::checkAndAddCaps()` to grant any WordPress role — including Subscriber — the `manage_wpc_settings` capability and thereby achieve plugin-administrator-equivalent control over the plugin's optimization, CDN, and critical-CSS surfaces. The API key required to pass the authorization check can itself be obtained without authentication via the `wpc_send_critical_remote` nopriv AJAX action: when the external critical-CSS service returns an `apiResults` field, `initCritical()` echoes the stored plugin API key back to the caller in a `wp_send_json_success` response, completing the exploit chain entirely without a WordPress login.
- CVSS
- 4.8 MEDIUM (v3.1, CNA)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
- Weakness (CWE)
- CWE-269
- Known exploited
- Not in CISA's KEV catalog
- EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days)
- Not loaded for this CVE
- Assigned by
- Wordfence
- NVD analysis
- Deferred
- Record last updated
- Oct 16, 2026
- First seen by InfoSec Signals
- Oct 16, 2026
Affected products
aresit WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization aresit:wp_compress_instant_performance_and_speed_optimization (from the name) | through 7.25.00 | CNA record |
References
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/67e9bfb8-b274-422a-a50d-a6b6b24bb193?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-compress-image-optimizer/tags/7.10.03/classes/comms.class.php#L49
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-compress-image-optimizer/tags/7.10.03/classes/users.class.php#L30
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-compress-image-optimizer/tags/7.10.03/classes/comms.class.php#L1042
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-compress-image-optimizer/tags/7.10.03/classes/ajax.class.php#L816
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-compress-image-optimizer/tags/7.10.03/addons/criticalCss/criticalCss.php#L409
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&new=3734610%40wp-compress-image-optimizer%2Ftags%2F7.26.00&old=3723132%40wp-compress-image-optimizer%2Ftags%2F7.25.00
The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry
The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.