CVE-2026-120551
WP Compress <= 7.22.01 - Missing Authorization to Unauthenticated Account Linking / Site Takeover via 'force_ic_connect' and 'apikey' Parameters
Description
The WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass in all versions up to, and including, 7.22.01. This is due to the plugin not properly verifying that a user is authorized to perform an action. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to link the victim site to an attacker-controlled WP Compress account, overwrite plugin settings to an aggressive live-CDN preset, and gain the shared api_key that authenticates all nopriv HMAC-gated endpoints — enabling full control over cache purging, file deletion, opcode cache invalidation, and other privileged plugin operations. This vulnerability only affects fresh installations or lite/free-mode installs where no api_key is already stored, as the sole guard fails open when the stored key is absent.
INFO
Published Date :
Nov. 3, 2026, 5:18 a.m.
Last Modified :
Nov. 3, 2026, 5:18 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-120551
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update the WP Compress plugin to the latest version.
- Verify plugin settings are secure.
- Ensure no sensitive API keys are exposed.
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-2026-120551.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-120551 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-2026-120551
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-2026-120551 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-120551 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]
Nov. 03, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description The WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass in all versions up to, and including, 7.22.01. This is due to the plugin not properly verifying that a user is authorized to perform an action. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to link the victim site to an attacker-controlled WP Compress account, overwrite plugin settings to an aggressive live-CDN preset, and gain the shared api_key that authenticates all nopriv HMAC-gated endpoints — enabling full control over cache purging, file deletion, opcode cache invalidation, and other privileged plugin operations. This vulnerability only affects fresh installations or lite/free-mode installs where no api_key is already stored, as the sole guard fails open when the stored key is absent. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N Added CWE CWE-862 Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/120xxx/CVE-2026-120551.json">CVE-2026-120551</a> Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-compress-image-optimizer/tags/7.21.27/classes/connect.class.php#L103 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-compress-image-optimizer/tags/7.21.27/classes/mainwp.class.php#L29 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-compress-image-optimizer/tags/7.21.27/classes/mainwp.class.php#L9 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3680035%40wp-compress-image-optimizer&new=3680035%40wp-compress-image-optimizer Added Reference https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/42d4ec8b-d3ed-4aa3-a8b9-cddaf64a7531?source=cve