CVE-2026-12083
Summary
by MITRE • 07/06/2026
The Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) WordPress plugin before 8.8.4, admin-site-enhancements-pro WordPress plugin before 8.8.4 does not perform authentication, authorization, or nonce checks on a role-restoration request handler, allowing unauthenticated attackers to restore a previously demoted administrator account back to the administrator role. This is an incomplete fix of CVE-2024-43333 / CVE-2025-24648, which closed the issue for only one of the demotion paths the WordPress role API exposes.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2026
The vulnerability exists within the Admin and Site Enhancements WordPress plugin version 8.8.3 and earlier, as well as the admin-site-enhancements-pro plugin version 8.8.3 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of WordPress user role management systems. This issue stems from insufficient authentication and authorization controls within the role-restoration request handler component of these plugins, which allows any unauthenticated attacker to exploit the system and restore previously demoted administrator accounts back to full administrative privileges. The flaw specifically affects the WordPress role API's demotion mechanisms, where the plugin fails to properly validate user credentials or verify proper authorization before executing role restoration operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a clear failure in access control enforcement, as the plugin does not perform nonce checks or verify that the requesting user possesses sufficient privileges to modify user roles. This oversight creates an unauthorized privilege escalation vector that directly violates fundamental security principles outlined in CWE-285, which addresses insufficient authorization mechanisms within software systems. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it represents an incomplete remediation of previously identified issues CVE-2024-43333 and CVE-2025-24648, where the developers only addressed one of multiple demotion paths exposed by WordPress's role management API. This partial fix leaves the system vulnerable to attack through alternative pathways that were not properly secured.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and can result in complete system compromise when exploited by malicious actors. An unauthenticated attacker who gains access to the affected WordPress installation can restore compromised administrator accounts without requiring valid credentials or authorization, effectively neutralizing any security measures taken to demote malicious users or investigate security incidents. This capability enables attackers to maintain persistent access to the system while potentially covering their tracks by restoring previously removed admin privileges. The vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1078.004, which describes valid accounts abuse through privileged account manipulation, and could facilitate further lateral movement within the compromised environment.
The exploitation of this vulnerability requires minimal technical skill and can be accomplished through simple HTTP requests to the affected plugin endpoints, making it particularly dangerous in environments where WordPress installations are not properly monitored or patched. The attack surface is broad as any user with access to the web application can attempt to exploit this weakness without requiring prior authentication. Organizations running vulnerable versions of these plugins face significant risk of unauthorized access, data breaches, and potential complete system compromise. The remediation strategy requires immediate patching to version 8.8.4 or later for both affected plugins, along with comprehensive monitoring of user role changes and implementation of additional security controls such as web application firewalls, rate limiting, and proper network segmentation to prevent exploitation attempts.
This vulnerability highlights the importance of thorough security testing and complete remediation of security issues within WordPress plugins, particularly when dealing with critical access control mechanisms. The incomplete fix approach demonstrates how partial solutions can leave systems vulnerable to similar attacks through alternative code paths, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security reviews and adherence to established security frameworks such as those outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity guidelines. Organizations should conduct immediate vulnerability assessments of their WordPress installations to identify and remediate all instances of this vulnerability across their infrastructure.