CVE-2026-16635

What it is

The Pronamic Pay plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 10.1.0 This is due to the `maybe_update_user_role()` function passing an attacker-controlled Gravity Forms field value (`$lead[$feed->user_role_field_id]`) directly into `WP_User::set_role()` without any allowlist validation, capability comparison, or permission check to constrain which roles can be assigned. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to escalate their own WordPress account to Administrator by tampering with the role field value in a form submission. Exploitation requires that an administrator has already configured a Pronamic Pay payment feed in Gravity Forms with the **Update User Role** option enabled and mapped to a form field; once that configuration is in place, no further preconditions exist to prevent an authenticated attacker from exploiting this vulnerability.

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

0.6% 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. 2026-08-01 09:17 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-08-12 21:00 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Details

Published

2026-08-01 09:17 UTC

Last modified

2026-08-12 21:00 UTC

Exploit probability

0.6% · 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