An issue was discovered in the Ultimate Member plugin before 2.1.12 for WordPress, aka Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation via User Meta. An attacker could supply an array parameter for sensitive metadata, such as the wp_capabilities user meta that defines a user's role. During the registration process, submitted registration details were passed to the update_profile function, and any metadata was accepted, e.g., wp_capabilities[administrator] for Administrator access.
The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
| Link | Tags |
|---|---|
| https://wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-member/#developers | third party advisory release notes |
| https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2020/11/critical-privilege-escalation-vulnerabilities-affect-100k-sites-using-ultimate-member-plugin/ | third party advisory exploit |
| https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/cf13b0f8-5815-4d27-a276-5eff8985fc0b | third party advisory exploit |