# AI Engine <= 3.8.6 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Missing Authorization to Live Chatbot Takeover via Embed Preview

- **ID:** WPSEC-2026-1577
- **Plugin:** AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini (`ai-engine`), https://wordpress.org/plugins/ai-engine/
- **Affected versions:** all versions before 3.8.7
- **Fixed in:** 3.8.7 (Update to 3.8.7 or later.)
- **Severity:** Medium 5.4 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N)
- **Weakness:** CWE-862
- **Usage among sites WPSec scans:** plugin Low, affected versions Low (as of 2026-10-24)
- **Attack surface analysis:** https://attacksurface.wpsec.com/plugin/ai-engine
- **Fix released:** 2026-10-23
- **Published:** 2026-10-24
- **URL:** https://wpsec.com/vuln/WPSEC-2026-1577/

## Description

The AI Engine plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of chatbot configuration via the mwai_chatbot shortcode in all versions up to, and including, 3.8.6, due to can_override_server_params() allowing server-side parameters to be stored for a custom chatbot ID whenever no post is being rendered. This includes AJAX and REST requests such as WordPress' parse-embed preview, where shortcode text comes from the request. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to replace a live custom chatbot's system prompt, model or API key, which affects every visitor using that chatbot.

## References

- https://wpsec.com/vuln/WPSEC-2026-1577/
- https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/ai-engine/tags/3.8.7/
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/ai-engine/

Source: WPSec, https://wpsec.com/vuln/WPSEC-2026-1577/

License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Free to use, share and adapt, also commercially, if you credit WPSec and link to this advisory.