7.2
HIGH CVSS 3.1
CVE-2026-75927
PublishPress Capabilities <= 2.50.0 - Authenticated (Editor+) Privilege Escalation to Fresh-Install Default Capability Grant
Description

The PublishPress Capabilities – User Role Editor, Access Permissions, User Capabilities, Admin Menus plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 2.50.0. This is due to the `addPluginCapabilities()` function unconditionally granting the Editor role all 15 `manage_capabilities_*` capabilities — including `manage_capabilities`, `manage_capabilities_roles`, `manage_capabilities_settings`, and `manage_capabilities_backup` — via a hard-coded `$eligible_roles = ['administrator', 'editor']` assignment that runs automatically on the first `admin_init` after plugin activation with no administrator opt-in, persisting the grants directly to the database. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Editor-level access to elevate their privileges to a site-wide capability manager, enabling them to create, rename, and delete non-system roles, modify capabilities of non-administrator roles, restore role backups, and write arbitrary plugin options whose names begin with `cme_`, `capsman`, `pp_capabilities`, or `presspermit` via `update_option()`. The escalation stops short of full Administrator access, as WordPress's `map_meta_cap` layer still prevents the escalated Editor from granting administrator-only capabilities to other roles; however, all role-management and plugin-settings functionality gated solely on `manage_capabilities_*` capabilities remains fully accessible.

INFO

Published Date :

Sept. 9, 2026, 8:17 a.m.

Last Modified :

Sept. 9, 2026, 8:17 a.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-75927 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

No affected product recoded yet

CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 3.1 HIGH [email protected]
Solution
Update the plugin to a version that addresses privilege escalation by restricting capability grants.
  • Update PublishPress Capabilities plugin to the latest version.
  • Review plugin settings for unintended capability grants.
  • Remove elevated capabilities if present.
  • Consider disabling the plugin if updates are unavailable.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-75927 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-75927 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-75927 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-75927 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Sep. 09, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description The PublishPress Capabilities – User Role Editor, Access Permissions, User Capabilities, Admin Menus plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 2.50.0. This is due to the `addPluginCapabilities()` function unconditionally granting the Editor role all 15 `manage_capabilities_*` capabilities — including `manage_capabilities`, `manage_capabilities_roles`, `manage_capabilities_settings`, and `manage_capabilities_backup` — via a hard-coded `$eligible_roles = ['administrator', 'editor']` assignment that runs automatically on the first `admin_init` after plugin activation with no administrator opt-in, persisting the grants directly to the database. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Editor-level access to elevate their privileges to a site-wide capability manager, enabling them to create, rename, and delete non-system roles, modify capabilities of non-administrator roles, restore role backups, and write arbitrary plugin options whose names begin with `cme_`, `capsman`, `pp_capabilities`, or `presspermit` via `update_option()`. The escalation stops short of full Administrator access, as WordPress's `map_meta_cap` layer still prevents the escalated Editor from granting administrator-only capabilities to other roles; however, all role-management and plugin-settings functionality gated solely on `manage_capabilities_*` capabilities remains fully accessible.
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-269
    Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/75xxx/CVE-2026-75927.json">CVE-2026-75927</a>
    Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/capability-manager-enhanced/tags/2.50.0/classes/pp-capabilities-installer.php#L78
    Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/capability-manager-enhanced/tags/2.50.0/includes/admin-load.php#L758
    Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/capability-manager-enhanced/tags/2.50.0/includes/functions-admin.php#L361
    Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/capability-manager-enhanced/tags/2.50.0/includes/manager.php#L1186
    Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/capability-manager-enhanced/tags/2.50.0/includes/settings-handler.php#L22
    Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3665572%40capability-manager-enhanced&new=3665572%40capability-manager-enhanced
    Added Reference https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/2f35ab5c-f897-404b-92ea-71bf1c98e0c0?source=cve
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.