CVE-2026-49077: WP eMember Information Disclosure Vulnerability

Technical summary

CVE-2026-49077 is classified as CWE-497 (Exposure of Sensitive System Information to an Unauthorized Control Sphere). The plugin fails to adequately restrict access to sensitive data embedded within its responses or functionality. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N) indicates the vulnerability is remotely exploitable over the network, requires no special access control preconditions, requires no user interaction, and results in low confidentiality impact with no integrity or availability compromise. This is a passive information disclosure issue rather than an active attack vector.

Business impact

Information disclosure vulnerabilities in membership plugins create reconnaissance opportunities for attackers. Exposed system information—such as plugin versions, server details, or membership structure—can inform more targeted attacks. For e-commerce or subscription-based sites relying on WP eMember, this could compromise competitive information or expose customer subscription patterns. While not directly leading to data theft or service disruption, the exposure undermines security posture by eliminating information hiding as a defensive layer.

Affected systems

WP eMember through version 10.2.2 is affected. The plugin is widely deployed across WordPress sites that implement membership functionality. Any WordPress installation running WP eMember at v10.2.2 or earlier is vulnerable. Verify your current version in WordPress admin under Plugins.

Exploitability

This vulnerability has a low barrier to exploitation—no authentication is required, no special conditions must be met, and the attack is network-accessible. However, it is not listed on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, suggesting active exploitation in the wild has not yet been confirmed or reported at scale. The attack is passive reconnaissance rather than active compromise, limiting immediate damage but warranting remediation as part of defense-in-depth.

Remediation

Update WP eMember to a version newer than v10.2.2. Verify with the vendor's official advisory which patch version resolves this issue. In the interim, monitor access logs for unusual patterns accessing plugin endpoints, and consider restricting plugin functionality via Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules if patching is delayed.

Patch guidance

Check the Tips and Tricks HQ website or the WordPress plugin repository for an available update beyond v10.2.2. Apply updates through the WordPress admin dashboard (Plugins > Installed Plugins > Update Available). Test the update in a staging environment before production deployment to ensure membership functionality remains intact. Verify the updated version number post-deployment.

Detection guidance

Monitor web server and application logs for unusual requests to WP eMember plugin directories (typically /wp-content/plugins/wp-emember/). Look for requests that attempt to access configuration files, API endpoints, or data export functions without proper authentication headers. Network-based detection can identify suspicious patterns in HTTP requests to the plugin; WAF rules can flag attempts to retrieve sensitive data structures. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions should monitor for unauthorized file access on the web server itself.

Why prioritize this

While the CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium) reflects low immediate damage potential, this vulnerability merits relatively prompt remediation for organizations running WP eMember. Information disclosure is a foundational step in attack chains; it enables attackers to map your infrastructure and identify secondary vulnerabilities. Membership plugins handle authentication and payment data, making them high-value reconnaissance targets. The ease of exploitation (no authentication required) combined with the sensitive nature of membership systems justifies prioritizing this above strictly low-severity issues, even though it is not yet widely exploited.

Risk score, explained

The CVSS 3.1 score of 5.3 reflects the low confidentiality impact of information disclosure balanced against the ease of exploitation (network-accessible, no authentication, no user interaction). The score does not account for the critical role membership systems play in your security posture or the value of the information disclosed, which may be higher for your organization than the generic score suggests. Consider raising internal priority if your site processes payments, stores PII, or relies heavily on membership segmentation.

Frequently asked questions