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CVE-2026-97644 — The Groundhogg — CRM, Newsletters, and Marketing Automation plugin for WordPress is…

Key facts

CVE-2026-97644 is a High (8.8) vulnerability: The Groundhogg — CRM, Newsletters, and Marketing Automation plugin for WordPress is…. This entry ships a detection-only PoC and a Docker test lab.
CVE CVE-2026-97644
Severity High (8.8)
Detection / prevention —
PoC poc.py
Source 2026/CVE-2026-97644/

Details

English | 한국어

Description

The Groundhogg — CRM, Newsletters, and Marketing Automation plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation via Contact Identity Rebinding in all versions up to, and including, 4.9 The vulnerability exists because the create_contact function in the v3 REST endpoint (POST /gh/v3/contacts) is gated solely by the add_contacts capability and forwards the full request payload — including the security-bearing user_id column — into the upsert path of Contacts_DB::add(), which bypasses the ownership guard that Contacts_DB::update() enforces, allowing an attacker to rebind any existing contact record to an arbitrary WordPress user ID. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Sales Representative-level access and above to upsert their own contact row to point to an Administrator's user ID, then invoke the v4 email-test endpoint (POST /gh/v4/emails/test) — also accessible to the Sales Representative role via the send_emails capability — to generate an {auto_login_url} one-time permissions key bound to the rebound contact, and consume that link to call wp_set_auth_cookie() and gain a fully authenticated session as the WordPress Administrator.

Vulnerability Details

Property Value
CVE ID CVE-2026-97644
Type RCE
CVSS Score 8.8

Proof of Concept

Download

# Download PoC script
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fankh/vulnerability-poc/main/2026/CVE-2026-97644/poc.py

Usage

# Run PoC against target
python3 poc.py --target <TARGET_URL>

# With authentication
python3 poc.py --target <TARGET_URL> --username <USER> --password <PASS>

⚠️ Warning: This PoC is for authorized security testing only. It uses detection-only techniques and does not exploit or damage target systems.

Test Lab

This repository includes a Docker-based test environment with both vulnerable and patched applications.

Quick Start

# Clone and navigate to CVE directory
cd CVE-2026-97644

# Start both applications
docker-compose up -d

# Run tests
./run-tests.sh    # Linux/Mac
./run-tests.ps1   # Windows PowerShell

Application Endpoints

Application URL Status
Vulnerable App http://localhost:8080 Shows vulnerability
Patched App http://localhost:8081 Demonstrates fix

Directory Structure

├── README.md           # English documentation
├── README_KO.md        # Korean documentation
├── poc.py              # PoC detection script
├── docker-compose.yml  # Container orchestration
├── run-tests.sh        # Linux/Mac test runner
├── run-tests.ps1       # Windows test runner
├── vulnerable-app/     # Vulnerable version
│   ├── app.py
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   └── requirements.txt
└── patched-app/        # Fixed version
    ├── app.py
    ├── Dockerfile
    └── requirements.txt

References

  • https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groundhogg/tags/4.8.3/api/v3/contacts-api.php#L373
  • https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groundhogg/tags/4.8.3/api/v4/emails-api.php#L571
  • https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groundhogg/tags/4.8.3/db/contacts.php#L205
  • https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groundhogg/tags/4.8.3/includes/main-roles.php#L532
  • https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groundhogg/tags/4.8.3/includes/replacements.php#L2280
  • https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groundhogg/tags/4.8.3/includes/rewrites.php#L460
  • https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3724910/groundhogg/trunk/api/v3/contacts-api.php
  • https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&new=3724910%40groundhogg%2Ftags%2F4.9.1&old=3724058%40groundhogg%2Ftags%2F4.9
  • https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/557306b7-7b66-465e-8d4d-ebae5b1577c9?source=cve

Generated by PoC Generator on 2026-10-03T13:49:08.390504875

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-97644?

CVE-2026-97644 is a High (8.8) vulnerability: The Groundhogg — CRM, Newsletters, and Marketing Automation plugin for WordPress is…. This entry ships a detection-only PoC and a Docker test lab.

How do I detect CVE-2026-97644?

Run the detection-only PoC included with this entry against your Docker test lab to confirm whether a target is affected; pair it with your own IDS logging.

How do I block or mitigate CVE-2026-97644?

Upgrade to a fixed version per the vendor advisory; the NVD record lists the affected versions. Use the included PoC to verify your remediation.

For authorized security testing and research only. See the full source and NVD record.