CVE-2026-115807: User Profile Builder privilege escalation vulnerability
high 7.1 published 2026-10-24 · updated 2026-10-29
- Affected versions
- 4.0.3 and older
- Fixed in
- 4.0.4 *
- Latest version
- 4.0.6
- Severity
- High · CVSS 7.1
- Active installs
- 40,000+
- Type
- Privilege escalation
* The source does not name a fixed version; this is the first wordpress.org release after the last affected version.
What an attacker needs
- Access: A logged-in account with Author-level access or higher.
CVSS vector (score by Wordfence): CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N
What to do now
- Update User Profile Builder to 4.0.4 or newer (the latest is 4.0.6): Dashboard → Updates, or Plugins → “update now”.
- If you cannot update right away, deactivate it until you can.
- Turn on auto-updates for it: Plugins → “Enable auto-updates” on its row.
- Not sure which version you run? Check your version against every known User Profile Builder issue.
With WP-CLI:
wp plugin get profile-builder --field=version. - If you ran an affected version and something looks off (new admin users, spam pages, redirects), run the free scan below.
The advisory
The User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Limited Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 4.0.3. This is due to the Gutenberg Register block passing the attacker-controlled Assigned Role attribute directly into the `[wppb-register]` shortcode without server-side authorization. The role guard in the form builder only downgrades roles that carry the manage_options or remove_users capability, leaving the Editor role and other privileged non-Administrator roles completely unrestricted. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Author-level access and above to create new WordPress accounts bearing the Editor role (or any other role that lacks the two guarded capabilities).
References
- NVD CVE-2026-115807 nvd.nist.gov
- Wordfence advisory www.wordfence.com
- Code change (fix) plugins.trac.wordpress.org
Related
Ran an affected version? Check your site for signs of a hack
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Where this data comes from
- CVE record, score and references: NIST National Vulnerability Database (NVD), checked 2026-11-04. This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- Versions and install counts: wordpress.org/plugins/profile-builder (Plugins API), fetched 2026-11-04.
- The summary, “what an attacker needs” and “what to do” sections are our plain-English reading of the record and the plugin's release history; the quoted description is the record's own text. Spot an error? Email Daniel.