CVE-2026-12165

What it is

The Contest Gallery – Upload & Vote Photos, Media, Sell with PayPal & Stripe plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 30.0.2 via the `RegistryUserRole` parameter. This is due to the plugin's admin menu being registered at the `edit_posts` capability level — granting Contributor-level users access to the plugin's admin pages and a valid `cg_admin` nonce — while the option-saving handler in `change-options-and-sizes.php` performs no `current_user_can()` capability check beyond `check_admin_referer('cg_admin')`, and the `RegistryUserRole` value is processed only through `sanitize_text_field()` and `htmlentities()` without restriction to an allowlist of permitted role names. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with author-level access and above, to overwrite the plugin's stored `RegistryUserRole` option with `administrator`, which the `cg_create_wp_user_from_google_user` function then reads back from the `contest_gal1ery_registry_and_login_options` database table without any allowlist validation and passes directly to `wp_update_user()`, effectively promoting a newly registered Google sign-in account to Administrator.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network with a low-privilege account. High risk of data exposure, data tampering, service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.4% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

No patch or advisory is linked yet. Look at mitigations or restrict exposure.

Timeline

1. 2026-06-12 19:34 UTC ReservedThe CVE id was reserved by its CNA
2. 2026-06-17 13:19 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
3. 2026-06-17 14:44 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.4% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 8.8 HIGH (CVSS).
• Fix: none linked yet, which raises it.

Details

Published

2026-06-17 13:19 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 14:44 UTC

Exploit probability

0.4% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-269 · Improper privilege management

Record status

Deferred

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 8.8

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2026-12165.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2026-12165. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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