CVE-2026-11901 — WP Hotel Booking <= 2.3.1 - Unauthenticated Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity to Payment Bypass via PayPal IPN Handler
The WP Hotel Booking plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity in all versions up to, and including, 2.3.1. This is due to the `web_hook_process_paypal_standard()` IPN handler selecting its PayPal validation endpoint from the attacker-controlled `$_REQUEST['test_ipn']` parameter, force-upgrading any `pending` transaction to `completed` when `test_ipn=1`, and omitting post-verification checks on `receiver_email`, `mc_currency`, and `txn_id` uniqueness after receiving a `VERIFIED` response from PayPal. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to mark arbitrary hotel bookings as fully paid without submitting genuine payment to the merchant — either by routing IPN validation through PayPal's sandbox using a free sandbox account, or by replaying a previously verified IPN from a nominal payment to an attacker-controlled PayPal account. An attacker requires only a free PayPal sandbox account (or any PayPal account) to obtain a `VERIFIED` response; no site credentials or special configuration are needed.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- Technical severity (medium)+3
- Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Thimpress WP Hotel Booking).
- The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (integrity), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thimpress | WP Hotel Booking | ≤ 2.3.1 | Vulnerable | CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.3 | CVSS 3.1 | Medium | 3.9 | 1.4 | security@wordfence.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 5.3 | CVSS 3.1 | Medium | — | — | Wordfence via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N (score shown at the top: security@wordfence.com) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · thimpress/wp hotel booking
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- CVSS changed · 5.3
- Source status changed · → Deferred
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026
References
10 on the record
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.0/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wp
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.1/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wp
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.0/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wp
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.1/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wp
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.1/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wp
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.0/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wp
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.1/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wp
- www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/191ec7ea-6ca7-4943-8709-f372ae5a81c7
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-hotel-booking/tags/2.3.0/includes/gateways/paypal/class-wp
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Medium CVE-2026-15464 WP Hotel Booking <= 2.3.2 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via 'widget_search' Shortcode Attribute Jul 24, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-15094 WP Hotel Booking <= 2.3.2 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via 'check_in_date' Parameter Jul 17, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-11392 WP Hotel Booking <= 2.3.1 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via 'check_in_date' and 'check_out_date' Parameters Jul 10, 2026
- Medium CVE-2025-14075 WP Hotel Booking <= 2.2.7 - Unauthenticated Sensitive Information Exposure via 'email' Parameter Jan 17, 2026
- Medium CVE-2025-63012 WordPress WP Hotel Booking plugin <= 2.2.8 - Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability Dec 9, 2025
- Medium CVE-2025-63013 WordPress WP Hotel Booking plugin <= 2.2.7 - Sensitive Data Exposure vulnerability Dec 9, 2025
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No FIRST EPSS score.
- No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2026-11901 is "WP Hotel Booking <= 2.3.1 - Unauthenticated Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity to Payment Bypass via PayPal IPN Handler", rated Medium. It affects WP Hotel Booking (Thimpress); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.3 describes technical severity. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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