CVE-2026-12281

HIGHPre-NVD 8.18.1
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score 8.1 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: HIGH) published 2026-07-15. CISA-ADP (Vulnrichment) CVSS v3.1 baseline 8.1; sources differ by 0.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: cisa-adp, epss, ghsa
Trending — 3 sources updated this week
8.1EG
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 0%CVSS: 8.1Exploit: None knownExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

The Shibboleth WordPress plugin before 2.5.4 does not fail closed when its HTTP header identity mode is enabled without an anti-spoofing key, treating any request that carries identity headers as an authenticated session without verifying them. On a deployment where untrusted client headers reach the application, an unauthenticated attacker can log in with forged identity headers and, when automatic account creation and the default administrator role mapping are enabled, create and sign in as a new administrator. Exploitation requires the non-default HTTP header attribute mode, an empty or absent spoof key, automatic account creation enabled, and a deployment that does not strip untrusted client headers before they reach the application.

CVSS v3
8.1
EG Score
8.1(high)
EG Risk
37(Track)
EG Risk 37/100SSVC: Track

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity81% × 45%
Exploitation0% × 40%
Automatability0% × 15%
Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence.
EPSS PROB
0%
EPSS %ILE
14%
KEV
Not listed

Published

July 15, 2026

Last Modified

July 15, 2026

Advisory Details (1)

Auto-updated Jul 15, 2026
🔬 Proof of concept available. No patch confirmed yet.
generic🟡 PoC Available

Shibboleth < 2.5.4 – Unauthenticated Administrator Account Creation via Identity Header Spoofing | CVE 2026-12281 | Plugin Vulnerabilities

https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/8474eda4-6385-447a-9139-f57c049d1713/

Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-12281(1)

These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 24× in last 7d / 40× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-07-31 12:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  2. 2026-07-30 23:11 UTCEG score recompute
  3. 2026-07-30 23:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  4. 2026-07-30 16:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-07-30 10:00 UTCEG score recompute
  6. 2026-07-30 10:00 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-07-30 01:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-07-29 20:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-07-29 06:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-07-28 17:41 UTCEG score recompute
  11. 2026-07-28 17:41 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-07-28 15:36 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-07-28 04:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-07-27 15:17 UTCEG score recompute
  15. 2026-07-27 15:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-07-27 14:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-07-27 00:49 UTCEG score recompute
  18. 2026-07-27 00:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-07-26 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-07-26 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-07-26 11:38 UTCEG score recompute
  22. 2026-07-26 11:38 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-07-25 14:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-07-24 14:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-07-23 14:18 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 15 more
  1. 2026-07-23 03:05 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-07-22 14:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-07-21 15:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-07-20 17:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-07-19 14:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-19 02:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-07-18 10:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-07-17 06:47 UTCEG score recompute 8.10
  9. 2026-07-17 06:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-07-16 17:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-07-15 16:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-07-15 10:44 UTCMITRE cvelistV5CVSS v3 → 8.1 · severity → HIGH
  13. 2026-07-15 06:20 UTCNVD update
  14. 2026-07-15 06:05 UTCEG score recompute
  15. 2026-07-15 06:04 UTCMITRE cvelistV5first tracked

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2026-12281?
CVE-2026-12281 is a high vulnerability published on July 15, 2026. The Shibboleth WordPress plugin before 2.5.4 does not fail closed when its HTTP header identity mode is enabled without an anti-spoofing key, treating any request that carries identity headers as an authenticated session without verifying them. On a deployment where untrusted client headers reach…
When was CVE-2026-12281 disclosed?
CVE-2026-12281 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on July 15, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2026-12281 actively exploited?
CVE-2026-12281 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 0% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the top 85.9% of all scored CVEs.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-12281?
CVE-2026-12281 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 (CISA-ADP / Vulnrichment enrichment; NVD's own analysis pending).
How do I remediate CVE-2026-12281?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2026-12281, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

Explore the affected products and dependency analysis for CVE-2026-12281

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