CVE-2026-12224

Dokan Pro <= 5.0.4 - Authenticated (Vendor+) Privilege Escalation via update_capabilities REST Endpoint

2026-06-30 17:43
0xd4rk5id3

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 5.0.5
Affected Plugin
Dokan Pro
Affected Version
<= 5.0.4
CVSS
8.8High
Weakness type
CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
CVE
CVE-2026-12224
View all Dokan Pro vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-12224 is a high-severity Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the Dokan Pro WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 5.0.4. 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 Vendor level or above. The issue is fixed in version 5.0.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2026, reported by 0xd4rk5id3.

Vulnerability Overview

The Dokan Pro plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation via update_capabilities REST Endpoint in all versions up to, and including, 5.0.4. This is due to the `update_capabilities()` REST handler accepting arbitrary capability strings from the request body and passing them directly to WP_User::add_cap() with no allowlist validation, only verifying that the caller holds the dokandar capability. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with a self-provisioned Vendor-level access and above, on sites with the Vendor Staff module enabled, to grant arbitrary WordPress capabilities, including administrator, to any vendor_staff account, leading to a full site 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-269: Improper Privilege Management

Dokan Pro <= 5.0.4 carries this weakness at update_capabilities(), and reaching it takes an account at Vendor level or above. Improper privilege management means the code lets an account end up with capabilities its role should not have.

It converts a low-privileged account into an administrative one, which makes every other restriction on the site irrelevant. For Dokan Pro the fix is 5.0.5: builds <= 5.0.4 are affected, anything from 5.0.5 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 5.0.5, 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: Dokan Pro 5.0.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-12224https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/6ff9c202-b3e8-4660-8763-a9fee468203ehttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-12224

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C