diff --git a/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/Node.java b/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/Node.java
index c16e96464b..8d97b6bc75 100644
--- a/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/Node.java
+++ b/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/Node.java
@@ -304,6 +304,17 @@ public NodeAffiliate addNoneAffiliation(JID jid) {
         return addAffiliation(jid, NodeAffiliate.Affiliation.none);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Adds a new affiliation or updates an existing affiliation of the specified entity JID
+     * to become a member affiliate.
+     *
+     * @param jid the JID of the member.
+     * @return the newly created or modified affiliation to the node.
+     */
+    public NodeAffiliate addMember(JID jid) {
+        return addAffiliation(jid, NodeAffiliate.Affiliation.member);
+    }
+
     /**
      * Sets that the specified entity is an outcast of the node. Outcast entities are not
      * able to publish or subscribe to the node. Existing subscriptions will be deleted.
diff --git a/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/NodeAffiliate.java b/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/NodeAffiliate.java
index f172159b0c..e948dab55b 100644
--- a/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/NodeAffiliate.java
+++ b/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/NodeAffiliate.java
@@ -364,6 +364,10 @@ public static enum Affiliation {
          * A publisher can subscribe and publish items to the node.
          */
         publisher,
+        /**
+         * A member can subscribe to and retrieve items from whitelist nodes.
+         */
+        member,
         /**
          * A user with no affiliation can susbcribe to the node.
          */
diff --git a/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/PubSubEngine.java b/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/PubSubEngine.java
index 1a6a7012ae..f2786a1743 100644
--- a/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/PubSubEngine.java
+++ b/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/PubSubEngine.java
@@ -1761,6 +1761,9 @@ private void modifyNodeAffiliations(PubSubService service, IQ iq, Element entiti
             else if ("publisher".equals(newAffiliation)) {
                 node.addPublisher(owner);
             }
+            else if ("member".equals(newAffiliation)) {
+                node.addMember(owner);
+            }
             else if ("none".equals(newAffiliation)) {
                 node.addNoneAffiliation(owner);
             }
diff --git a/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/models/WhitelistAccess.java b/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/models/WhitelistAccess.java
index 43560d64c3..b4133dd8db 100644
--- a/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/models/WhitelistAccess.java
+++ b/xmppserver/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/models/WhitelistAccess.java
@@ -40,10 +40,13 @@ public boolean canSubscribe(Node node, JID owner, JID subscriber) {
         if (node.isAdmin(owner)) {
             return true;
         }
-        // User is in the whitelist if he has an affiliation and it is not of type outcast
+        // Whitelist access requires an explicit privileged affiliation. A "none" affiliation can
+        // linger after a subscription is removed and must not keep granting access.
         NodeAffiliate nodeAffiliate = node.getAffiliate(owner);
-        return nodeAffiliate != null &&
-                nodeAffiliate.getAffiliation() != NodeAffiliate.Affiliation.outcast;
+        return nodeAffiliate != null && (
+                nodeAffiliate.getAffiliation() == NodeAffiliate.Affiliation.member ||
+                nodeAffiliate.getAffiliation() == NodeAffiliate.Affiliation.publisher ||
+                nodeAffiliate.getAffiliation() == NodeAffiliate.Affiliation.owner);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/xmppserver/src/test/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/models/WhitelistAccessTest.java b/xmppserver/src/test/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/models/WhitelistAccessTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1b936eeabf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xmppserver/src/test/java/org/jivesoftware/openfire/pubsub/models/WhitelistAccessTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2026 Ignite Realtime Foundation. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.jivesoftware.openfire.pubsub.models;
+
+import org.jivesoftware.openfire.pubsub.Node;
+import org.jivesoftware.openfire.pubsub.NodeAffiliate;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.xmpp.packet.JID;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
+
+class WhitelistAccessTest {
+
+    private final WhitelistAccess access = new WhitelistAccess();
+    private final Node node = mock(Node.class);
+    private final NodeAffiliate affiliate = mock(NodeAffiliate.class);
+    private final JID user = new JID("user@example.org");
+
+    @Test
+    void memberCanSubscribe() {
+        when(node.getAffiliate(user)).thenReturn(affiliate);
+        when(affiliate.getAffiliation()).thenReturn(NodeAffiliate.Affiliation.member);
+
+        assertTrue(access.canSubscribe(node, user, user));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void noneAffiliationIsNotWhitelisted() {
+        when(node.getAffiliate(user)).thenReturn(affiliate);
+        when(affiliate.getAffiliation()).thenReturn(NodeAffiliate.Affiliation.none);
+
+        assertFalse(access.canSubscribe(node, user, user));
+    }
+}