CVE-2020-36155Known exploitationPublic exploitNetwork attack vector

Administrator escalation via unrestricted user metadata writes

Published Jan 4, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Privilege escalation in Ultimate Member before 2.1.12 allows remote attackers to gain WordPress Administrator access through registration. The registration flow passes submitted fields to update_profile, which iterates over arbitrary keys and writes them with update_user_meta without blocking sensitive metadata. No prior account or user interaction is required; a crafted wp_capabilities array grants control of the newly created administrator account.

CVSS severity10.0
Critical
EPSS probability8.97%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationReported
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in Ultimate Member before 2.1.12 allows remote attackers to gain WordPress Administrator access through registration. The registration flow passes submitted fields to update_profile, which iterates over arbitrary keys and writes them with update_user_meta without blocking sensitive metadata. No prior account or user interaction is required; a crafted wp_capabilities array grants control of the newly created administrator account.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-36155
Published
Jan 4, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-269, T1098
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 4, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.5NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
10.0WordfenceCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationReported
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1098Account Manipulation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Reported exploitation

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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