CVE-2026-86596: s2Member remote code execution vulnerability
critical 9.8 published 2026-11-02
- Affected versions
- 260927 and older
- Fixed in
- 261001 *
- Latest version
- 261017
- Severity
- Critical · CVSS 9.8
- Active installs
- 8,000+
- Type
- Remote code execution
* The source does not name a fixed version; this is the first wordpress.org release after the last affected version.
What an attacker needs
- Access: A logged-in account with Custom-level access or higher.
CVSS vector (score by Wordfence): CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
What to do now
- Update s2Member to 261001 or newer (the latest is 261017): Dashboard → Updates, or Plugins → “update now”.
- If you cannot update right away, deactivate it until you can.
- Turn on auto-updates for it: Plugins → “Enable auto-updates” on its row.
- Not sure which version you run? Check your version against every known s2Member issue.
With WP-CLI:
wp plugin get s2member --field=version. - If you ran an affected version and something looks off (new admin users, spam pages, redirects), run the free scan below.
The advisory
The s2Member plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in all versions up to, and including, <= 260927 via the 'item_name' parameter parameter. This is due to insufficient sanitization in strip_php_tags_deep(), which only strips literal '<?' sequences, combined with a post-interpolation placeholder cleanup that reassembles a valid '<?php' opener after the attacker-controlled value has already been embedded in the email template. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with custom-level access and above, to execute code on the server.
References
- NVD CVE-2026-86596 nvd.nist.gov
- Wordfence advisory www.wordfence.com
- Code change (fix) plugins.trac.wordpress.org
- Plugin source plugins.trac.wordpress.org
Related
Ran an affected version? Check your site for signs of a hack
The free scan reads the public side of your site and looks for spam pages, hidden redirects, injected scripts and blacklist entries. No login, no install, about a minute.
Where this data comes from
- CVE record, score and references: NIST National Vulnerability Database (NVD), checked 2026-11-04. This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- Versions and install counts: wordpress.org/plugins/s2member (Plugins API), fetched 2026-11-04.
- The summary, “what an attacker needs” and “what to do” sections are our plain-English reading of the record and the plugin's release history; the quoted description is the record's own text. Spot an error? Email Daniel.