CVE-2026-120070 (GCVE-0-2026-120070)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-10-31 07:46 – Updated: 2026-10-31 07:46
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Title
User Frontend <= 4.3.13 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via post_content Parameter
Summary
The User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 4.3.13 via the `post_content` parameter of the `submit_post()` function. The vulnerability exists because the protected-shortcode blocklist guard inspects the `sanitize_textarea_field()` copy of the submitted `post_content`, while the copy actually persisted to the database is processed through `wp_kses()`, whose `wp_kses_no_null()` step strips C0 control bytes — allowing an attacker to inject a single `\x01` byte inside the `[wpuf-registration]` tag name to defeat the `strpos()` blocklist check while the clean, functional shortcode is stored verbatim; `strip_shortcodes()` does not neutralize the stored shortcode either, because the Frontend container that registers it via `add_shortcode()` is only instantiated when `is_admin()` is false, and `admin-ajax` requests have `is_admin() === true`. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to inject a `[wpuf-registration role="editor"]` shortcode into a published post, causing a live Editor-role registration form to be rendered publicly on the frontend that any visitor — or the attacker themselves — can submit to mint a WordPress Editor account with an immediately active privileged session when the default `autologin_after_registration` setting is enabled.
Severity
8.8 (High)
CWE
- CWE-269 - Improper Privilege Management
Assigner
References
6 references
Impacted products
1 product
| Vendor | Product | Version | CPE status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| wedevs | User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission |
Affected:
0 , ≤ 4.3.13
(semver)
|
guessed |
{
"containers": {
"cna": {
"affected": [
{
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"product": "User Frontend \u2013 Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory \u0026 Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission",
"vendor": "wedevs",
"versions": [
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "4.3.13",
"status": "affected",
"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver"
}
]
}
],
"credits": [
{
"lang": "en",
"type": "finder",
"value": "Kuba"
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "The User Frontend \u2013 Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory \u0026 Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 4.3.13 via the `post_content` parameter of the `submit_post()` function. The vulnerability exists because the protected-shortcode blocklist guard inspects the `sanitize_textarea_field()` copy of the submitted `post_content`, while the copy actually persisted to the database is processed through `wp_kses()`, whose `wp_kses_no_null()` step strips C0 control bytes \u2014 allowing an attacker to inject a single `\\x01` byte inside the `[wpuf-registration]` tag name to defeat the `strpos()` blocklist check while the clean, functional shortcode is stored verbatim; `strip_shortcodes()` does not neutralize the stored shortcode either, because the Frontend container that registers it via `add_shortcode()` is only instantiated when `is_admin()` is false, and `admin-ajax` requests have `is_admin() === true`. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to inject a `[wpuf-registration role=\"editor\"]` shortcode into a published post, causing a live Editor-role registration form to be rendered publicly on the frontend that any visitor \u2014 or the attacker themselves \u2014 can submit to mint a WordPress Editor account with an immediately active privileged session when the default `autologin_after_registration` setting is enabled."
}
],
"metrics": [
{
"cvssV3_1": {
"baseScore": 8.8,
"baseSeverity": "HIGH",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"version": "3.1"
}
}
],
"problemTypes": [
{
"descriptions": [
{
"cweId": "CWE-269",
"description": "CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management",
"lang": "en",
"type": "CWE"
}
]
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-10-31T07:46:53.190Z",
"orgId": "b15e7b5b-3da4-40ae-a43c-f7aa60e62599",
"shortName": "Wordfence"
},
"references": [
{
"url": "https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/f84b6767-f254-45c9-8e78-36d4beac2a98?source=cve"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-frontend/tags/4.3.13/includes/Ajax/Frontend_Form_Ajax.php#L253"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-frontend/tags/4.3.13/includes/Ajax/Frontend_Form_Ajax.php#L132"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-frontend/tags/4.3.13/includes/Frontend/Registration.php#L116"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-frontend/tags/4.3.13/includes/Frontend/Registration.php#L362"
},
{
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3770255/wp-user-frontend/trunk/includes/Ajax/Frontend_Form_Ajax.php"
}
],
"timeline": [
{
"lang": "en",
"time": "2026-10-09T18:22:03.000Z",
"value": "Vendor Notified"
},
{
"lang": "en",
"time": "2026-10-30T19:33:59.000Z",
"value": "Disclosed"
}
],
"title": "User Frontend \u003c= 4.3.13 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via post_content Parameter"
}
},
"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "b15e7b5b-3da4-40ae-a43c-f7aa60e62599",
"assignerShortName": "Wordfence",
"cveId": "CVE-2026-120070",
"datePublished": "2026-10-31T07:46:53.190Z",
"dateReserved": "2026-10-30T19:33:19.204Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-10-31T07:46:53.190Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2",
"vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
"epss": {
"cve": "CVE-2026-120070",
"date": "2026-11-04",
"epss": "0.00302",
"percentile": "0.23072"
},
"nvd": {
"cve": {
"affected": [
{
"affectedData": [
{
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"product": "User Frontend \u2013 Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory \u0026 Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission",
"vendor": "wedevs",
"versions": [
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "4.3.13",
"status": "affected",
"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver"
}
]
}
],
"source": "security@wordfence.com"
}
],
"cveTags": [],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "The User Frontend \u2013 Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory \u0026 Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 4.3.13 via the `post_content` parameter of the `submit_post()` function. The vulnerability exists because the protected-shortcode blocklist guard inspects the `sanitize_textarea_field()` copy of the submitted `post_content`, while the copy actually persisted to the database is processed through `wp_kses()`, whose `wp_kses_no_null()` step strips C0 control bytes \u2014 allowing an attacker to inject a single `\\x01` byte inside the `[wpuf-registration]` tag name to defeat the `strpos()` blocklist check while the clean, functional shortcode is stored verbatim; `strip_shortcodes()` does not neutralize the stored shortcode either, because the Frontend container that registers it via `add_shortcode()` is only instantiated when `is_admin()` is false, and `admin-ajax` requests have `is_admin() === true`. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to inject a `[wpuf-registration role=\"editor\"]` shortcode into a published post, causing a live Editor-role registration form to be rendered publicly on the frontend that any visitor \u2014 or the attacker themselves \u2014 can submit to mint a WordPress Editor account with an immediately active privileged session when the default `autologin_after_registration` setting is enabled."
}
],
"id": "CVE-2026-120070",
"lastModified": "2026-11-02T16:19:19.997",
"metrics": {
"cvssMetricV31": [
{
"cvssData": {
"attackComplexity": "LOW",
"attackVector": "NETWORK",
"availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
"baseScore": 8.8,
"baseSeverity": "HIGH",
"confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
"integrityImpact": "HIGH",
"privilegesRequired": "LOW",
"scope": "UNCHANGED",
"userInteraction": "NONE",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"version": "3.1"
},
"exploitabilityScore": 2.8,
"impactScore": 5.9,
"source": "security@wordfence.com",
"type": "Primary"
}
]
},
"published": "2026-10-31T08:16:49.183",
"references": [
{
"source": "security@wordfence.com",
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-frontend/tags/4.3.13/includes/Ajax/Frontend_Form_Ajax.php#L132"
},
{
"source": "security@wordfence.com",
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-frontend/tags/4.3.13/includes/Ajax/Frontend_Form_Ajax.php#L253"
},
{
"source": "security@wordfence.com",
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-frontend/tags/4.3.13/includes/Frontend/Registration.php#L116"
},
{
"source": "security@wordfence.com",
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-user-frontend/tags/4.3.13/includes/Frontend/Registration.php#L362"
},
{
"source": "security@wordfence.com",
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3770255/wp-user-frontend/trunk/includes/Ajax/Frontend_Form_Ajax.php"
},
{
"source": "security@wordfence.com",
"url": "https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/f84b6767-f254-45c9-8e78-36d4beac2a98?source=cve"
}
],
"sourceIdentifier": "security@wordfence.com",
"vulnStatus": "Deferred",
"weaknesses": [
{
"description": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "CWE-269"
}
],
"source": "security@wordfence.com",
"type": "Primary"
}
]
}
}
}
}
Loading…
Loading…
Drag nodes to arrange them. Double-click a related vulnerability to open it, or a source to visit its link. The Physics button on the left tunes the layout and the simulation; the legend at the bottom left hides or shows nodes by kind and by sighting type.
Experimental. This forecast is provided for visualization only and may change without notice. Do not use it for operational decisions.
Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Vulnerability timeline
Sightings and recorded dates, grouped by day · UTC
Loading timeline…
Loading…
Loading…
The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the
vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base
model, served locally by ML-Gateway.
They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
Loading…
Related by attack behaviour
Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.