PilotPress <= 2.0.43 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via Account Takeover via 'username' Parameter
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-85659 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | Wordfence |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-10-16 06:17:11 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-10-16 06:17:11 UTC |
| 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. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 8.8 HIGH from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Problem Types: CWE-269 | CWE-269 CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Primary | 8.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | DECLARED | 8.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
LowUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Ontraport | PilotPress | affected 2.0.43 semver | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/ceee48dd-72a7-49c3-90d5-7af1a... | [email protected] | www.wordfence.com | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/pilotpress/tags/2.0.39/pilotpress.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/pilotpress/tags/2.0.39/pilotpress.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/pilotpress/tags/2.0.39/pilotpress.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3737004 | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/pilotpress/tags/2.0.39/pilotpress.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Supakiad S. (m3ez) (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2026-10-15T16:30:23.000Z | Disclosed |
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.