CVE-2026-85659 | Vulnerability Intelligence

Stored catalog record

Source record retrieved 2026-10-28T10:22:57.088906+00:00. Scheduled imports handle updates; this page does not assert that the provider was queried just now.

Vulnerability overview

The PilotPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation via Account Takeover in all versions up to, and including, 2.0.43. The vulnerability exists because the `update_cc_details()` AJAX handler forwards an attacker-supplied `username` parameter to ONTRAPORT via `api_call('update_cc_details', ...)` before performing the local `username_exists()` collision check, and aborts without rolling back the remote rename when a collision is detected — leaving the remote ONTRAPORT contact renamed to an existing WordPress Administrator's login. On a subsequent login attempt, `user_login()` (hooked to `wp_authenticate`) authenticates against ONTRAPORT using the renamed login and the attacker's own password, resolves the local WordPress user row via `get_user_by('login', $username)` — which now selects the real Administrator's row — and calls `wp_set_password()` against that Administrator's user ID; because the `user_level != 10` guard only suppresses PilotPress's own cookie issuance rather than returning a `WP_Error` to core, WordPress proceeds to validate the newly-synchronized password and issues a full Administrator authentication cookie to the attacker. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access and above — specifically any PilotPress member holding a valid ONTRAPORT contact and the Customer Center nonce — to fully take over an Administrator account.

Patch review priority

Assess exposure and vendor guidance

No higher-priority signal is available in the current stored evidence.

FIRST EPSS: 0.36% · percentile 29.2 · score date 2026-10-27.

EPSS estimates probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. It does not measure your exposure or prove exploitation. The elevated threshold is 10%; CISA KEV takes precedence. About FIRST EPSS ↗

Severity and scoring

CVSS score: 8.8 · HIGH
CVSS version: 3.1
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weaknesses: CWE-269

CVSS measures technical severity; it does not establish whether this vulnerability is being exploited in your environment.

Known exploitation and remediation

Not listed in the CISA catalog retrieved for this record. This does not establish that exploitation has not occurred.

Verify affected versions and patch availability in the vendor advisory before making changes.

Affected products and versions

NVD has not supplied affected-version configurations for this record. Check the vendor references below.

Advisories and references

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