CVE-2026-19801
BetterLinks <= 3.1.0 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary Short URL Creation via create_fbs_link AJAX Action
Description
The BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass in all versions up to, and including, 3.1.0. This is due to the plugin not properly verifying that a user is authorized to perform an action. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to create arbitrary BetterLinks short URLs with attacker-controlled slugs and redirect destinations, enabling phishing and SEO abuse. Exploitation requires the Fluent Boards companion plugin to be installed and active (so that the FLUENT_BOARDS constant is defined), and is further facilitated by the betterlinks_admin_nonce nonce being emitted on every frontend page via wp_localize_script, making it accessible to any authenticated user.
INFO
Published Date :
Aug. 25, 2026, 2:16 a.m.
Last Modified :
Aug. 25, 2026, 2:16 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-19801
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] | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | MITRE-CVE |
Solution
- Update the BetterLinks plugin to the latest version.
- Ensure the Fluent Boards companion plugin is not active.
- Apply security patches immediately.
- Review plugin access controls.
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-2026-19801.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-19801 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-2026-19801
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-2026-19801 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-19801 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.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Aug. 25, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'wpdevteam', 'product': 'BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '0', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '3.1.0'}], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}] Added Description The BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass in all versions up to, and including, 3.1.0. This is due to the plugin not properly verifying that a user is authorized to perform an action. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to create arbitrary BetterLinks short URLs with attacker-controlled slugs and redirect destinations, enabling phishing and SEO abuse. Exploitation requires the Fluent Boards companion plugin to be installed and active (so that the FLUENT_BOARDS constant is defined), and is further facilitated by the betterlinks_admin_nonce nonce being emitted on every frontend page via wp_localize_script, making it accessible to any authenticated user. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N Added CWE CWE-862 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/betterlinks/tags/3.0.0/betterlinks.php#L254 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/betterlinks/tags/3.0.0/includes/Admin/Ajax.php#L180 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/betterlinks/tags/3.0.0/includes/Admin/Ajax.php#L99 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/betterlinks/tags/3.1.0/betterlinks.php#L254 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/betterlinks/tags/3.1.0/includes/Admin/Ajax.php#L180 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/betterlinks/tags/3.1.0/includes/Admin/Ajax.php#L99 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3658390%40betterlinks&new=3658390%40betterlinks Added Reference https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/faf44730-b975-4057-96dc-7284775500f9?source=cve