# CVE-2026-19598 — sc0ttkclark Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields

> As of 2026-08-17, CVE-2026-19598 is a CRITICAL-severity vulnerability in sc0ttkclark Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields, CVSS v3.1 9.8, EPSS 2.7% (85.4th percentile). Threadlinqs Intelligence links 1 tracked threat campaign to CVE-2026-19598, most recently “Five Critical WordPress Plugin/Theme Flaws (CVSS up to 10.0) Enable Site Takeover or RCE: WPMU DEV Dashboard, Avada/Fusion Builder, TranslatePress, Pods, GiveWP”.

**Last updated:** 2026-08-17

## What is CVE-2026-19598?

The Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation via Authorization Bypass in all versions up to, and including, 3.3.9. The vulnerability exists because the pods_admin AJAX router funnels every access check — including the method allowlist, nonce verification, login enforcement, and capability gate — through pods_error(), which under the JSON meta-box-loader compatibility path only writes failures to the PHP error log and returns false instead of terminating the request, rendering all guards ineffective. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to escalate their privileges to Administrator or overwrite the password of any user account, including the site owner's, enabling complete site takeover, or perform another administrator action.

The record classifies CVE-2026-19598 under weakness class [CWE-863](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/863.html). Its CVSS v3 base vector states that the flaw is reachable remotely over the network, needs no prior authentication, needs no user interaction, and has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability. 1 affected-product entry is recorded, across 1 vendor, listed below. The identifier was first published 36 days ago.

## Severity and exploitation probability

- **CVSS v3.1 base score:** 9.8 — CRITICAL (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **EPSS (FIRST):** 2.7% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 85.4% of all scored CVEs
- **CISA KEV:** Not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
- **Threadlinqs priority:** 10/10 — a Threadlinqs composite of the CVSS base score, the EPSS percentile and public exploit availability
- **Published:** 2026-08-15, last modified 2026-08-17

## Is CVE-2026-19598 being exploited?

Weaponised exploit code for CVE-2026-19598 is publicly available. 3 public proof-of-concept repositories are tracked for this identifier. A ProjectDiscovery Nuclei detection template exists (`http/cves/2026/CVE-2026-19598.yaml`).

- [sag-asab/CVE-2026-19598](https://github.com/sag-asab/CVE-2026-19598) (github)
- [ksotaria1337/CVE-2026-19598](https://github.com/ksotaria1337/CVE-2026-19598) (github)
- [DeadExpl0it/CVE-2026-19598-PoC](https://github.com/DeadExpl0it/CVE-2026-19598-PoC) (github)

## Affected products and versions

- **sc0ttkclark**: Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields

## How to fix CVE-2026-19598

No vendor patch reference has been recorded for CVE-2026-19598 in the tracked sources. Follow the references below for a fix, and treat the products listed above as exposed until the vendor states otherwise.

## Threat activity tracking CVE-2026-19598

1 tracked threat in the Threadlinqs corpus references CVE-2026-19598, either in the campaign’s CVE list or as an indicator on the campaign record.

- [Five Critical WordPress Plugin/Theme Flaws (CVSS up to 10.0) Enable Site Takeover or RCE: WPMU DEV Dashboard, Avada/Fusion Builder, TranslatePress, Pods, GiveWP](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-2210) — CRITICAL · 2026-08-29

## Sources

Enriched from CVE.org, NVD, FIRST EPSS, GitHub Security Advisories, public proof-of-concept repositories, ProjectDiscovery Nuclei. Last verified by Threadlinqs on 2026-08-31. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

**Other references**

- [wordfence.com](https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3628032a-3121-45a7-8a78-cfcd8ba6af2f?source=cve)
- [plugins.trac.wordpress.org](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/pods/tags/3.3.9/includes/general.php#L400)

Canonical: https://intel.threadlinqs.com/cve/CVE-2026-19598
Full detection coverage and IOCs for threats exploiting CVE-2026-19598 via the Threadlinqs MCP server (Purple tier): https://intel.threadlinqs.com/mcp