CVE-2026-11901
WP Hotel Booking <= 2.3.1 - Unauthenticated Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity to Payment Bypass via PayPal IPN Handler
Description
The WP Hotel Booking plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity in all versions up to, and including, 2.3.1. This is due to the `web_hook_process_paypal_standard()` IPN handler selecting its PayPal validation endpoint from the attacker-controlled `$_REQUEST['test_ipn']` parameter, force-upgrading any `pending` transaction to `completed` when `test_ipn=1`, and omitting post-verification checks on `receiver_email`, `mc_currency`, and `txn_id` uniqueness after receiving a `VERIFIED` response from PayPal. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to mark arbitrary hotel bookings as fully paid without submitting genuine payment to the merchant — either by routing IPN validation through PayPal's sandbox using a free sandbox account, or by replaying a previously verified IPN from a nominal payment to an attacker-controlled PayPal account. An attacker requires only a free PayPal sandbox account (or any PayPal account) to obtain a `VERIFIED` response; no site credentials or special configuration are needed.
INFO
Published Date :
July 11, 2026, 7:16 a.m.
Last Modified :
July 11, 2026, 7:16 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update the WP Hotel Booking plugin to the latest version.
- Verify PayPal IPN settings are correctly configured.
- Remove the 'test_ipn' parameter if used.
- Ensure PayPal transaction data is validated thoroughly.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-11901.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-11901 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-11901
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-11901 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-11901 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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New CVE Received by [email protected]
Jul. 11, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'thimpress', 'product': 'WP Hotel Booking', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '0', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '2.3.1'}], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}] Added Description The WP Hotel Booking plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity in all versions up to, and including, 2.3.1. This is due to the `web_hook_process_paypal_standard()` IPN handler selecting its PayPal validation endpoint from the attacker-controlled `$_REQUEST['test_ipn']` parameter, force-upgrading any `pending` transaction to `completed` when `test_ipn=1`, and omitting post-verification checks on `receiver_email`, `mc_currency`, and `txn_id` uniqueness after receiving a `VERIFIED` response from PayPal. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to mark arbitrary hotel bookings as fully paid without submitting genuine payment to the merchant — either by routing IPN validation through PayPal's sandbox using a free sandbox account, or by replaying a previously verified IPN from a nominal payment to an attacker-controlled PayPal account. An attacker requires only a free PayPal sandbox account (or any PayPal account) to obtain a `VERIFIED` response; no site credentials or special configuration are needed. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N Added CWE CWE-345 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.0/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wphb-payment-gateway-paypal.php#L173 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.0/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wphb-payment-gateway-paypal.php#L186 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.0/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wphb-payment-gateway-paypal.php#L194 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.0/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wphb-payment-gateway-paypal.php#L253 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.1/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wphb-payment-gateway-paypal.php#L173 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.1/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wphb-payment-gateway-paypal.php#L186 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.1/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wphb-payment-gateway-paypal.php#L194 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.1/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wphb-payment-gateway-paypal.php#L253 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3582839%40wp-hotel-booking&new=3582839%40wp-hotel-booking Added Reference https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/191ec7ea-6ca7-4943-8709-f372ae5a81c7?source=cve