● Medium · CVSS 4.3

How to Fix CVE-2026-2494: Csrf in ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities

Q: What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-2494?

4.3 (Medium). Vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`.

Q: Where is the official advisory for CVE-2026-2494?

The vendor advisory is at [https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/6b8ffdb9-b8c6-428c-a047-8e5286b2c2fb?source=cve](https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/6b8ffdb9-b8c6-428c-a047-8e5286b2c2fb?source=cve). The NVD record is at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-2494.

By Sai Kiran Pandrala. Last verified: 2026-05-25.

CVE-2026-2494 is a CSRF in metagauss ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities. The fix is to apply the vendor patch noted below.

⚡ At a glance


Severity	4.3 (Medium)
Actively exploited?	No public listing in CISA KEV
Affected	ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 0 to <=5.9.8.2
Fixed in	See vendor advisory
Type (CWE)	CWE-352 Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)

What is CVE-2026-2494?

The ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in all versions up to, and including, 5.9.8.2. This is due to missing nonce validation on the membership request management page (approve and decline actions). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to approve or deny group membership requests via a forged request granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking on a link. The CVSS base score is 4.3 (Medium). The official advisory is at https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/6b8ffdb9-b8c6-428c-a047-8e5286b2c2fb?source=cve.

Am I affected?

Check the version of ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities you are running and compare it against the Affected row above (ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 0 to <=5.9.8.2). If your build sits inside the affected range, you must patch.

Run the version check that fits your platform:


# Linux package check
dpkg -s profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
rpm -q profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities 2>/dev/null
command -v profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities >/dev/null && profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities --version 2>/dev/null


# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-Package -Name "*ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Name, Version
winget list --name "ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities" 2>$null

How to fix CVE-2026-2494

Upgrade ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities to a patched build: See vendor advisory. The vendor advisory is the source of truth for the exact fixed version.

Ubuntu / Debian


sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities
dpkg -s profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities | grep -i ^Version

RHEL / CentOS / Rocky / AlmaLinux


sudo dnf upgrade --refresh profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities -y
# or for older releases:
sudo yum update profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities -y
rpm -q profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities

SUSE / openSUSE


sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper update profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities
rpm -q profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities

PHP / Composer


composer update metagauss/profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities 2>/dev/null || composer update
composer show | head -20

WordPress


# Update via WP-CLI
wp plugin update --all
wp core update

Complete PowerShell remediation script (Windows)


# Fix script for CVE-2026-2494 affecting ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities
# Run as administrator. Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
$LogPath  = "C:\Logs\CVE-2026-2494-fix-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmmss).log"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force (Split-Path $LogPath) | Out-Null
Start-Transcript -Path $LogPath -Append

try {
    Write-Host "[1/4] Detect installed version"
    $pkg = Get-Package -Name "*ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($pkg) { $pkg | Format-Table Name, Version }
    else { Write-Host "Not detected via Get-Package; try winget list" }

    Write-Host "[2/4] Backup configuration"
    $backup = "C:\Backup\profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd)"
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $backup | Out-Null
    Get-ChildItem "C:\ProgramData\ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
        Copy-Item -Destination $backup -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

    Write-Host "[3/4] Apply the upgrade to See vendor advisory"
    winget upgrade --name "ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities" --silent --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
        # Fallback: pull latest via OS update channel
        Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Force -SkipPublisherCheck -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate
        Install-WindowsUpdate -MicrosoftUpdate -AcceptAll -IgnoreReboot
    }

    Write-Host "[4/4] Verify the patched build"
    winget list --name "ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities"
    Write-Host "Patch applied. Reboot if prompted."
    exit 0
} catch {
    Write-Error "Patch failed: $_"
    exit 1
} finally {
    Stop-Transcript
}

Complete Bash remediation script (Linux)


#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Fix script for CVE-2026-2494 affecting ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities
# Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

set -euo pipefail
LOG="/var/log/cve-2026-2494-fix-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).log"
exec > >(tee -a "$LOG") 2>&1

echo "[1/4] Detect installed version"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version || echo "profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities not installed via dpkg"
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities || echo "profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities not installed via rpm"
fi

echo "[2/4] Backup configuration"
BACKUP="/root/backup-cve-2026-2494-$(date +%Y%m%d)"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP"
for d in /etc/profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities /etc/profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities.d /etc/profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities.conf; do
    [ -e "$d" ] && cp -a "$d" "$BACKUP/" || true
done

echo "[3/4] Apply the upgrade (target: See vendor advisory)"
if command -v apt-get >/dev/null; then
    apt-get update
    apt-get install --only-upgrade -y profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities
elif command -v dnf >/dev/null; then
    dnf upgrade --refresh -y profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities
elif command -v yum >/dev/null; then
    yum update -y profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities
elif command -v zypper >/dev/null; then
    zypper --non-interactive update profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities
fi

echo "[4/4] Verify the patched build"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities
fi
echo "Done. Restart any service that loaded the old library."

If you can't patch immediately

Apply at least one of the following inline controls until you can deploy the patched build. None replace the upgrade.

Restrict exposure with nftables (Linux)


# Allow only trusted CIDR to reach the affected service ports
sudo nft add table inet filter 2>/dev/null || true
sudo nft 'add chain inet filter input { type filter hook input priority 0 ; }' 2>/dev/null || true
sudo nft 'add rule inet filter input tcp dport {80, 443} ip saddr != 10.0.0.0/8 drop'
sudo nft list ruleset

Block at the host firewall (Windows)


New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block-CVE-2026-2494" -Direction Inbound -Action Block -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 80,443 -RemoteAddress Any -Enabled True
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block-CVE-2026-2494"

Disable the affected service (Linux)


sudo systemctl stop profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities 2>/dev/null || true
sudo systemctl disable profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities 2>/dev/null || true

If the vendor advisory lists an official workaround, prefer that wording verbatim. If no workaround is published, the only safe remediation is the patch.

How to verify the fix worked

After upgrading, confirm the installed version matches the patched build and that no old library is still loaded by a long-running process.


# Linux
dpkg -s profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
rpm -q profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities 2>/dev/null || true
# Pid map check for old library handles
sudo lsof +c0 2>/dev/null | grep -i "DEL.*lib" || true


# Windows
Get-Package -Name "*ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities*" | Select-Object Name, Version
Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 5

Expected: the reported version is at or above See vendor advisory. Restart the affected service (systemctl restart <service> on Linux, or restart the Windows service) so it loads the patched binary.

Frequently asked questions

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Is CVE-2026-2494 actively exploited?

There is no public confirmation of exploitation in the wild listed in CISA KEV at the time of this writing. Patch anyway. Public exploits commonly follow disclosure within weeks.

Do I need to reboot after patching CVE-2026-2494?

For kernel and OS-level updates, yes. For most userland packages a systemctl restart <service> is enough on Linux, and restarting the Windows service or app on Windows. Any process that loaded the old library keeps using it until restarted.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-2494?

4.3 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N.

Where is the official advisory for CVE-2026-2494?

The vendor advisory is at https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/6b8ffdb9-b8c6-428c-a047-8e5286b2c2fb?source=cve. The NVD record is at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-2494.

References

Official vendor advisory: https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/6b8ffdb9-b8c6-428c-a047-8e5286b2c2fb?source=cve
NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-2494
CISA KEV catalog: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
Additional reference: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities/trunk/admin/partials/pm-membership-requests.php#L14
Additional reference: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities/tags/5.9.7.1/admin/partials/pm-membership-requests.php#L14
Additional reference: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=3472582%40profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities&new=3472582%40profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=

*Written by Sai Kiran Pandrala. Assembled from the official vendor advisory, NVD record, and CISA KEV listing on 2026-05-25. Always confirm against the vendor's advisory before applying changes in production.*