CVE-2020-4050Network attack vector

Privilege escalation via unrestricted user-meta writes

Published Jun 12, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Authentication bypass in WordPress 3.7 through 5.4.1 allows remote authenticated users to alter arbitrary user metadata via a plugin that misuses set-screen-option. The set-screen-option handling accepts a plugin-supplied option result without restricting which user-meta fields can be written. An administrator must first install a plugin that misuses the filter; afterward, a low-privileged account can rewrite metadata such as capabilities and gain elevated privileges.

CVSS severity3.5
Low
EPSS probability1.41%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Authentication bypass in WordPress 3.7 through 5.4.1 allows remote authenticated users to alter arbitrary user metadata via a plugin that misuses set-screen-option. The set-screen-option handling accepts a plugin-supplied option result without restricting which user-meta fields can be written. An administrator must first install a plugin that misuses the filter; afterward, a low-privileged account can rewrite metadata such as capabilities and gain elevated privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-4050
Published
Jun 12, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
WordPress.org
Product
WordPress
Classifications
CWE-288, T1098
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 12, 2020CVE 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

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=>= 3.7.0, < 3.7.34
  2. Affected versionversion=>= 3.8.0, < 3.8.34
  3. Affected versionversion=>= 3.9.0, < 3.9.32
  4. Affected versionversion=>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.31
  5. Affected versionversion=>= 4.1.0, < 4.1.31
  6. Affected versionversion=>= 4.2.0, < 4.2.28
  7. Affected versionversion=>= 4.3.0, < 4.3.24
  8. Affected versionversion=>= 4.4.0, < 4.4.23
  9. Affected versionversion=>= 4.5.0, < 4.5.22
  10. Affected versionversion=>= 4.6.0, < 4.6.19
  11. Affected versionversion=>= 4.7.0, < 4.7.18
  12. Affected versionversion=>= 4.8.0, < 4.8.14
  13. Affected versionversion=>= 4.9.0, < 4.9.15
  14. Affected versionversion=>= 5.0.0, < 5.0.10
  15. Affected versionversion=>= 5.1.0, < 5.1.6
  16. Affected versionversion=>= 5.2.0, < 5.2.7
  17. Affected versionversion=>= 5.3.0, < 5.3.4
  18. Affected versionversion=>= 5.4.0, < 5.4.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

WordPress.org · WordPressversion=>= 3.7.0, < 3.7.34; version=>= 3.8.0, < 3.8.34; version=>= 3.9.0, < 3.9.32; version=>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.31; version=>= 4.1.0, < 4.1.31; version=>= 4.2.0, < 4.2.28; version=>= 4.3.0, < 4.3.24; version=>= 4.4.0, < 4.4.23; version=>= 4.5.0, < 4.5.22; version=>= 4.6.0, < 4.6.19; version=>= 4.7.0, < 4.7.18; version=>= 4.8.0, < 4.8.14; version=>= 4.9.0, < 4.9.15; version=>= 5.0.0, < 5.0.10; version=>= 5.1.0, < 5.1.6; version=>= 5.2.0, < 5.2.7; version=>= 5.3.0, < 5.3.4; version=>= 5.4.0, < 5.4.2

Published CVSS scores

3.5GitHubCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N
3.1NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
6.0NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P

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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-288Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel
T1098Account Manipulation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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