User Management <= 1.1 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.2
- Affected Plugin
- User Management
- Affected Version
<= 1.1- CVSS
- 8.8High
- Weakness type
- CWE-266 · Incorrect Privilege Assignment
- CVE
CVE-2025-22736
At a glance
CVE-2025-22736 is a high-severity Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability in the User Management WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.1. 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 1.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2025, reported by ardias.
Vulnerability Overview
The User Management plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.1. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to that of an administrator.
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-266: Incorrect Privilege Assignment
A product incorrectly assigns a privilege to a particular actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
Remediation
Update to version 1.2, 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: User Management 1.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in User Management
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