---
id: "CVE-2026-104755"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-104755"]
title: "WP Compress WordPress plugin: unauthenticated users gain plugin admin rights"
severity: "medium"
cvss: 4.8
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "package"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["package", "self-hosted", "wordpress", "wp-compress"]
not_affected_if: ["plugin-not-installed", "versions-above-7.25.00"]
published_at: "2026-10-16T07:17:08+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:12+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T04:34:56+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-104755", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:12+00:00"}]
---

# WP Compress WordPress plugin: unauthenticated users gain plugin admin rights

The WP Compress WordPress plugin, through version `7.25.00`, lets unauthenticated visitors write arbitrary permission keys into its settings and grant any WordPress role, including Subscriber, the `manage_wpc_settings` capability. The API key needed for that check can be fetched without login through a public AJAX action, so an attacker gets plugin-administrator control over optimization, CDN and critical-CSS settings.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- Check the installed WP Compress version in the WordPress admin plugin list; versions up to and including `7.25.00` are affected.
- Look for users with the `manage_wpc_settings` capability or unexpected Subscriber accounts with plugin settings changes.
- Review the `WPS_IC_SETTINGS` option in the database for unexpected permission keys.

## Fix

- Update WP Compress to a release newer than `7.25.00`; the sources do not name the fixed version.
- Remove the `manage_wpc_settings` capability from any role that should not have it.
- Rotate the plugin API key after updating.

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:12+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-104755

## From the sources

The WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 7.25.00 The vulnerability exists because the `start_comms` dispatcher (`wps_ic_comms::start_comms`), hooked on every front-end request, gates access only by comparing the caller-supplied `apikey` parameter against the stored plugin API key with no WordPress capability check and no nonce verification, then passes the unvalidated `group`, `setting`, and `value` parameters directly to `change_setting()`, which writes them into the `WPS_IC_SETTINGS` option without an allow-list. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to write arbitrary permission keys into the plugin's settings, causing `wps_ic_users::checkAndAddCaps()` to grant any WordPress role — including Subscriber — the `manage_wpc_settings` capability and thereby achieve plugin-administrator-equivalent control over the plugin's optimization, CDN, and critical-CSS surfaces. The API key required to pass the authorization check can itself be obtained without authentication via the `wpc_send_critical_remote` nopriv AJAX action: when the external critical-CSS service returns an `apiResults` field, `initCritical()` echoes the stored plugin API key back to the caller in a `wp_send_json_success` response, completing the exploit chain entirely without a WordPress login.

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_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_