# CVE-2026-15988: Meow Apps AI Engine CSRF-based auth bypass in reauth_for_authorize

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-15988-meow-apps-ai-engine-csrf-based-auth-bypass-in-reauth-for  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-08-01. Updated: 2026-08-01  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-15988 · Severity: high · CVSS 8.8 · Published 2026-08-01

The AI Engine plugin for WordPress, which provides chatbot and AI framework capabilities, is vulnerable to a security flaw that allows attackers to take over a website. By tricking a site administrator into clicking a malicious link, an attacker can bypass authentication and create a new administrator account for themselves. This gives the attacker full control over the website, potentially leading to data theft, site defacement, or complete service disruption.

Technologies: [Meow Apps AI Engine](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/ai-engine). Vendors: [Meow Apps](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/meow-apps).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-15988 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-15988 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-15988?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 8.8, published 1 August 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Meow Apps AI Engine <= 3.6.5.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-15988?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-15988 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-15988?** Check whether you run Meow Apps AI Engine at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

The AI Engine plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) due to missing or incorrect nonce validation on the 'reauth_for_authorize' function in versions up to and including 3.6.5. This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass REST authentication. By leveraging WordPress's '?_method=POST' method-override support, an attacker can convert a GET request (triggered via social engineering, such as a link click by an administrator) into an authenticated POST request to the REST users endpoint. This enables the creation of a new administrator account with attacker-supplied credentials. The issue is addressed in version 3.6.6.

## Affected products

- tigroumeow AI Engine – The Chatbot, AI Framework & MCP for WordPress <= 3.6.5

## Timeline

- 2026-08-01: advisory: NVD publication date
- 2026-08-01: disclosed: Wordfence disclosure date

## References

- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.6.2/labs/mcp-oauth.php](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.6.2/labs/mcp-oauth.php)
- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.6.2/labs/mcp-oauth.php](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.6.2/labs/mcp-oauth.php)
- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.6.2/labs/mcp-oauth.php](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.6.2/labs/mcp-oauth.php)
- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.6.2/labs/mcp-oauth.php](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.6.2/labs/mcp-oauth.php)
- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3628188/ai-engine/trunk/labs/mcp-oauth.php](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3628188/ai-engine/trunk/labs/mcp-oauth.php)
- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?old_path=%2Fai-engine/tags/3.6.5&new_path=%2Fai-engine/tags/3.6.6](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?old_path=%2Fai-engine/tags/3.6.5&new_path=%2Fai-engine/tags/3.6.6)
- [https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/45816c45-42bc-4163-b700-a1e913f32c97?source=cve](https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/45816c45-42bc-4163-b700-a1e913f32c97?source=cve)

## Related threats

- [Meow Apps AI Engine stored cross-site scripting](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-123478-improper-neutralization-of-input-during-web-page-generation)
- [Meow Apps AI Engine CSRF vulnerability](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-65566-cross-site-request-forgery-csrf-vulnerability-in-meow-apps-ai)
- [Meow Apps AI Engine broken access control in WordPress](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-112828-missing-authorization-vulnerability-in-meow-apps-ai-engine-ai)
- [Meow Apps AI Engine broken access control](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-110888-missing-authorization-vulnerability-in-meow-apps-ai-engine-ai)
- [Meow Apps AI Engine IDOR vulnerability](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-93623-unauthenticated-insecure-direct-object-references-idor-in-ai)