JSON API Auth <= 3.1.2 - Unauthenticated Authentication Bypass via Cached 'generate_auth_cookie' Response
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.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress plugin | JSON API Auth | <= 3.1.2 | 3.1.3 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-287- Platform
- WordPress
- Package
JSON API Auth- Disclosed
- 01.10.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 10:23
Sources and licenses
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Vulnerability history: JSON API Auth
All published vulnerabilities of this package (WordPress plugin), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
This is the only known vulnerability of this package.
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