Unauthenticated privilege escalation via unrestricted registration role
Published Aug 23, 2023 · Updated Apr 8, 2026
Privilege escalation in Charitable 1.7.0.12 and earlier allows remote attackers to register accounts with an arbitrary WordPress role. The update_core_user function accepts the registration role parameter without restricting it to an appropriate low-privilege role. The registration workflow must be reachable; exploitation grants the new account its attacker-selected privileges.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Charitable 1.7.0.12 and earlier allows remote attackers to register accounts with an arbitrary WordPress role. The update_core_user function accepts the registration role parameter without restricting it to an appropriate low-privilege role. The registration workflow must be reachable; exploitation grants the new account its attacker-selected privileges.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-4404
- Published
- Aug 23, 2023
- Updated
- Apr 8, 2026
- Vendor
- WP Charitable LLC
- Product
- Charitable
- Classifications
- CWE-269, T1136
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 23, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 8, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <=1.7.0.12
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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