CVE-2026-7106: WordPress Custom Role Manager Vulnerability

CVE-2026-7106 Overview

The Highland Software Custom Role Manager plugin for WordPress contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in versions up to and including 1.0.0. The flaw stems from insufficient authorization checks in the hscrm_save_user_roles() function, which is hooked to the personal_options_update action. This action is accessible by any authenticated WordPress user, enabling attackers with Subscriber-level access or higher to potentially modify user roles via the profile update form, effectively bypassing intended access controls.

Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers with minimal privileges (Subscriber-level) can escalate their access to Administrator-level privileges, potentially gaining full control of the WordPress site.

Affected Products

Highland Software Custom Role Manager plugin for WordPress version 1.0.0 and earlier
WordPress installations with the Custom Role Manager plugin enabled
Any site allowing user registration with the vulnerable plugin active

Discovery Timeline

April 27, 2026 - CVE-2026-7106 published to NVD
April 27, 2026 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-7106

Vulnerability Analysis

This privilege escalation vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) exists due to a fundamental authorization oversight in the Custom Role Manager plugin's user role management functionality. The vulnerable hscrm_save_user_roles() function processes role modification requests without adequately verifying that the requesting user has the necessary permissions to modify roles.

The function hooks into WordPress's personal_options_update action, which fires whenever a user updates their profile. By design, WordPress allows any authenticated user to update their own profile. However, the vulnerable plugin code fails to restrict role modification capabilities to users with appropriate administrative privileges.

An attacker with even the lowest authenticated access level (Subscriber) can craft a malicious request through the profile update form to assign themselves elevated roles, including Administrator. This could lead to complete site takeover, data theft, defacement, or malware injection.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of proper capability checks within the hscrm_save_user_roles() function. The function should verify that the current user has the edit_users or promote_users capability before processing any role modification requests. Instead, it processes role changes for any authenticated user who can trigger the personal_options_update action.

The vulnerable code paths can be examined in the plugin's source at includes/user-ui.php, specifically around lines 203, 223, and 289 where the role saving logic is implemented without adequate authorization gates.

Attack Vector

The attack requires network access and low-level authentication. An attacker must:

Create or compromise a Subscriber-level (or higher) account on the target WordPress site
Navigate to their profile edit page or craft a direct POST request
Include malicious role parameters in the profile update request
Submit the form to trigger the personal_options_update hook
The vulnerable function processes the request and assigns the attacker elevated privileges

The attack requires no user interaction beyond the attacker's own actions and can be executed remotely over the network. Once privileges are escalated, the attacker gains full administrative access to the WordPress installation.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-7106

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected user role changes in WordPress, particularly Subscribers or Contributors suddenly having Administrator privileges
Unusual activity in user profile edit logs showing role modification attempts
Database entries in wp_usermeta showing unexpected wp_capabilities changes
New administrator accounts created after exploitation

Detection Strategies

Monitor WordPress audit logs for unexpected role changes, especially for low-privilege users gaining administrative capabilities
Implement file integrity monitoring on the Custom Role Manager plugin files to detect tampering
Review HTTP POST requests to profile.php or user-edit.php containing suspicious role-related parameters
Query the database periodically for users whose roles have changed without corresponding admin action logs

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable comprehensive WordPress audit logging using a security plugin to track all user role modifications
Set up alerts for any role escalation events where a user's capabilities increase significantly
Monitor for unusual authentication patterns following profile update actions
Implement real-time alerting on any new Administrator account creation

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-7106

Immediate Actions Required

Update the Highland Software Custom Role Manager plugin to version 1.0.1 or later immediately
Audit all existing user accounts for unexpected role assignments or privilege escalation
If update is not possible, temporarily disable the Custom Role Manager plugin until patched
Review access logs for any suspicious profile update activity targeting role modifications

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been addressed in version 1.0.1 of the Highland Software Custom Role Manager plugin. The patch introduces proper capability checks to ensure only users with appropriate permissions can modify user roles. The patched code can be reviewed in the WordPress Plugin Repository trunk version.

For detailed vulnerability information, refer to the Wordfence Vulnerability Analysis.

Workarounds

Disable the Custom Role Manager plugin entirely if an immediate update is not possible
Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block POST requests containing role modification parameters from non-administrator users
Restrict user registration on the WordPress site to reduce the attack surface until patched
Add a custom code snippet to enforce capability checks on the personal_options_update hook as a temporary measure

bash

# Verify current plugin version and check for updates
wp plugin list --name=highland-software-custom-role-manager --format=table

# Update the plugin to the patched version
wp plugin update highland-software-custom-role-manager

# If update unavailable, deactivate the plugin temporarily
wp plugin deactivate highland-software-custom-role-manager

# Audit current user roles for anomalies
wp user list --role=administrator --format=table