Divi Form Builder <= 5.1.8 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Missing Authorization to Privilege Escalation via User Profile Update Form
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 5.1.9
- Affected Plugin
- Divi Form Builder
- Affected Version
<= 5.1.8- CVSS
- 8.8High
- Weakness type
- CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
- CVE
CVE-2026-5523
At a glance
CVE-2026-5523 is a high-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the Divi Form Builder WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 5.1.8. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 5.1.9; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2026, reported by 0xd4rk5id3.
Vulnerability Overview
The Divi Form Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Missing Authorization in versions up to, and including, 5.1.8. This is due to the update_user() function accepting a user ID parameter from form submissions without verifying that the authenticated user has permission to edit that specific user account, and the handle_register_submission() function only checking if any user is logged in rather than validating permissions for the target user. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to change the email address and password of any user account, including administrators, resulting in complete account takeover.
Technical Analysis
The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
Divi Form Builder <= 5.1.8 carries this weakness at update_user(), and reaching it takes an account at Subscriber level or above. Authorization bypass through a user-controlled key, often called insecure direct object reference, means the application looks up a record by an identifier from the request without checking that the caller owns it.
Changing a number in the request is enough to read or modify other users' records, which on commerce and membership sites means customer data. For Divi Form Builder the fix is 5.1.9: builds <= 5.1.8 are affected, anything from 5.1.9 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 5.1.9, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
Because it turns on account access, WordSec's login security is the relevant layer: role-based two-factor, captcha and brute-force limits raise the cost of getting the account this needs. None of that substitutes for the fix: Divi Form Builder 5.1.9 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Divi Form Builder
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