CVE-2026-85659
PilotPress <= 2.0.43 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via Account Takeover via 'username' Parameter
CVSS v3
8.8
HIGH
EPSS Score
0.4 %
exploit probability, as of 2026-10-16
CISA KEV
No
known exploited
Exploitation
none
SSVC status
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Affected and fixed versions
Neither OSV.dev nor the vendor advisories we read list affected versions for CVE-2026-85659 yet.
Description
The PilotPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation via Account Takeover in all versions up to, and including, 2.0.43. The vulnerability exists because the `update_cc_details()` AJAX handler forwards an attacker-supplied `username` parameter to ONTRAPORT via `api_call('update_cc_details', ...)` before performing the local `username_exists()` collision check, and aborts without rolling back the remote rename when a collision is detected — leaving the remote ONTRAPORT contact renamed to an existing WordPress Administrator's login. On a subsequent login attempt, `user_login()` (hooked to `wp_authenticate`) authenticates against ONTRAPORT using the renamed login and the attacker's own password, resolves the local WordPress user row via `get_user_by('login', $username)` — which now selects the real Administrator's row — and calls `wp_set_password()` against that Administrator's user ID; because the `user_level != 10` guard only suppresses PilotPress's own cookie issuance rather than returning a `WP_Error` to core, WordPress proceeds to validate the newly-synchronized password and issues a full Administrator authentication cookie to the attacker. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access and above — specifically any PilotPress member holding a valid ONTRAPORT contact and the Customer Center nonce — to fully take over an Administrator account.
Technical details
- CVSS v3 Vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Published
- 2026-10-16
- Last Modified
- 2026-10-16
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