CVE-2026-4261Network attack vector

Subscriber-to-Administrator escalation via unchecked expiry-role update

Published Mar 21, 2026 · Updated Mar 21, 2026

Privilege escalation in Ben Huson Expire Users 1.2.2 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to obtain Administrator access. The save_extra_user_profile_fields handler passes a self-profile POST to set_expire_data, which accepts expire_user_role and stores it in _expire_user_settings without the plugin's administrator-only expiry capability check. Subscriber access is sufficient to select Administrator as the role applied when the account expires, granting full site administration.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability0.25%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in Ben Huson Expire Users 1.2.2 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to obtain Administrator access. The save_extra_user_profile_fields handler passes a self-profile POST to set_expire_data, which accepts expire_user_role and stores it in _expire_user_settings without the plugin's administrator-only expiry capability check. Subscriber access is sufficient to select Administrator as the role applied when the account expires, granting full site administration.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-4261
Published
Mar 21, 2026
Updated
Mar 21, 2026
Vendor
Ben Huson
Product
Expire Users
Classifications
CWE-862, T1098
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 21, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 21, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=* <=1.2.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Ben Huson · Expire Usersversion=* <=1.2.2

Published CVSS scores

8.8WordfenceCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-862Missing Authorization
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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