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Response snapshot Oct 26, 2026, 21:42 UTC

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VulnerabilityCVE-2026-97657

The Abandoned Cart Pro for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via Malleable Encryption and Bypassable HMAC in all versions up to, and...

The Abandoned Cart Pro for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via Malleable Encryption and Bypassable HMAC in all versions up to, and including, 10.8.0.

At a glance

Exploited
Not known
Severity
9.8 Critical (CVSS 3.1)
Chance of exploitation
0.4% in the next 30 days
Sources
1 source

What to do

Check the vendor advisory for affected versions and fixes.

Read NVD CVE-2026-97657 (opens a new tab)

What happened

The Abandoned Cart Pro for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via Malleable Encryption and Bypassable HMAC in all versions up to, and including, 10.8.0.

This is due to the use of MAC-free AES-CTR encryption for cart-recovery link tokens — where the 8-byte CTR nonce is carried inside the ciphertext blob and the encryption key is looked up using the attacker-supplied `user_email` GET parameter — combined with an HMAC nonce check in `wcap_email_track_links()` that is only enforced when the `wcap_nonce` parameter is non-empty, allowing complete bypass by omission, and an insecure direct object reference on the decrypted `abandoned_id` with no ownership verification confirming the cart belongs to the email used for decryption.

This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers who possess a single legitimate cart-recovery link (obtained from their own reminder email) to recover the keystream, forge a ciphertext that decrypts to any victim's cart ID, and trigger a call to `wp_set_auth_cookie()` for the victim user — achieving full account takeover of any user who has ever abandoned a cart, including administrators.

The auto-login feature defaults to enabled and is forced on during plugin upgrades, meaning all affected installations are exploitable without any additional configuration.

Scores and how they were measured

CVSS base severity

9.8

Version 3.1As of

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Measurement source (opens a new tab)

How bad it is if exploited. Not a prediction of exploitation or proof you are exposed.

EPSS probability

0.4%

Scored Percentile 38.9%

Model and measurement source (opens a new tab)

A model's estimate of exploitation in the next 30 days, not certainty or your own risk.

Sources

  1. Primary source

    NVD CVE-2026-97657 (opens a new tab)

    NVD record: description, CVSS (the CNA score is preferred), affected products, and publication date. Not evidence of exploitation.

    Published Checked

  2. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  3. Primary source

    FIRST measured EPSS score (opens a new tab)

    Measured EPSS probability and percentile for CVE-2026-97657, scored 2026-10-26. A model estimate, not proof of exposure.

    Published Checked

Cite this record

For factual claims, cite the primary sources above; cite KEVWire for its compilation, dates, and classifications.

APA

KEVWire. (2026, October 14). The Abandoned Cart Pro for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via Malleable Encryption and Bypassable HMAC in all versions up to, and... (CVE-2026-97657). https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-97657

MLA

"The Abandoned Cart Pro for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via Malleable Encryption and Bypassable HMAC in all versions up to, and... (CVE-2026-97657)." KEVWire, 14 Oct. 2026, kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-97657.

Chicago

KEVWire. "The Abandoned Cart Pro for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via Malleable Encryption and Bypassable HMAC in all versions up to, and... (CVE-2026-97657)." Last modified October 14, 2026. https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-97657.

Evidence summary (plain text)

The Abandoned Cart Pro for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via Malleable Encryption and Bypassable HMAC in all versions up to, and... (Oct 14, 2026).
The Abandoned Cart Pro for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass via Malleable Encryption and Bypassable HMAC in all versions up to, and including, 10.8.0. This is due to the use of MAC-free AES-CTR encryption for cart-recovery link tokens — where the 8-byte CTR nonce is carried inside the ciphertext blob and the encryption key is looked up using the attacker-supplied `user_email` GET parameter — combined with an HMAC nonce check in `wcap_email_track_links()` that is only enforced when the `wcap_nonce` parameter is non-empty, allowing complete bypass by omission, and an insecure direct object reference on the decrypted `abandoned_id` with no ownership verification confirming the cart belongs to the email used for decryption. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers who possess a single legitimate cart-recovery link (obtained from their own reminder email) to recover the keystream, forge a ciphertext that decrypts to any victim's cart ID, and trigger a call to `wp_set_auth_cookie()` for the victim user — achieving full account takeover of any user who has ever abandoned a cart, including administrators. The auto-login feature defaults to enabled and is forced on during plugin upgrades, meaning all affected installations are exploitable without any additional configuration.
CVSS 9.8 (version 3.1; evidence as of Oct 14, 2026; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97657).
EPSS 0.4% for the following 30 days, scored Oct 26, 2026 (https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-97657&date=2026-10-26).
Sources:
NVD CVE-2026-97657: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97657
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?cveId=CVE-2026-97657
FIRST measured EPSS score: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-97657&date=2026-10-26
Record ID: CVE-2026-97657.
Record origin: Ingested record.
AI evidence: Not assessed.
Known exploitation: Not assessed.
Zero-day status: Not assessed. KEV membership alone does not establish zero-day status.
About this data

This record was ingested from a data source. Retrieved: Oct 26, 2026, 21:45 UTC. Ingestion is not an independent editorial investigation.

NVD status: Deferred. Publication in the NVD is not evidence of exploitation.

Looked up on demand from NVD because this CVE is outside the regularly tracked set (older, or rated below HIGH). It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as of the last ingestion.

A CISA KEV listing documents known exploitation, not necessarily a zero-day; absence from the catalog does not prove a vulnerability has never been exploited.

Technology tags indicate possible relevance, not verified exposure. Confirm the affected product, version, and configuration against your own inventory; KEVWire does not scan your systems.

A personal reading checklist on this device, not verified remediation.

Record JSON

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Record details

Record detail