CVE-2026-14873 in Bulk Password Reset Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/10/2026
The Bulk Password Reset plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation via account takeover in all versions up to, and including, 1.3.3. This is due to the plugin not properly validating a user's identity prior to updating their details like arbitrary user passwords, including administrator passwords, to a known plugin-configured custom value, enabling full account takeover of the site. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to change arbitrary user's email addresses, including administrators, and leverage that to reset the user's password and gain access to their account.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/10/2026
The Bulk Password Reset plugin for WordPress contains a critical privilege escalation vulnerability affecting all versions up through 1.3.3. This flaw stems from an insufficient validation of user identity during the process of updating account details, specifically when modifying passwords or email addresses. The core technical deficiency lies in the application's failure to enforce proper authorization checks before processing changes to arbitrary user profiles. Consequently, any authenticated attacker possessing subscriber-level access and above can manipulate these fields without adequate verification that they are authorized to modify the target account. This lack of strict identity validation allows for a direct path to full account takeover, as the system accepts updates from lower-privileged users targeting higher-privileged accounts such as administrators.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe, enabling authenticated attackers with minimal initial access to escalate their privileges significantly. By exploiting the flaw, an attacker can change the email address associated with any user account on the WordPress site, including those belonging to system administrators. Once the email address is altered, the attacker leverages standard password reset mechanisms provided by the plugin or core WordPress functionality to set a new password known only to them. This sequence effectively results in complete control over the targeted account. In the case of an administrator account, this grants the attacker full administrative rights over the entire website, allowing for further exploitation such as data exfiltration, defacement, installation of malicious plugins, or use of the server as a pivot point for broader network attacks.
From a classification perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-269, which denotes Improper Privilege Control, and more specifically reflects aspects of CWE-284 regarding improper access control mechanisms that fail to restrict actions based on user roles. In terms of the MITRE ATT&CK framework for enterprise security, this behavior is consistent with techniques related to Account Manipulation (T1098) where attackers modify account properties like email addresses or passwords to maintain persistence or escalate privileges. It also touches upon Credential Access (T1528) by facilitating unauthorized password changes that compromise the integrity of authentication credentials within the environment.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate remediation through software updates and strict access control enforcement. The most effective solution is to upgrade the Bulk Password Reset plugin to a version later than 1.3.3, where these validation checks have presumably been corrected by the developers. For organizations unable to update immediately due to compatibility constraints or other operational reasons, temporary mitigations should include restricting user registration and role assignments to only those who absolutely require access. Additionally, implementing multi-factor authentication for all administrative accounts can provide a critical layer of defense even if an attacker successfully changes the password via this vulnerability. Regular auditing of plugin permissions and ensuring that no unnecessary plugins with broad capabilities are installed on production systems will also reduce the attack surface available to lower-privileged users seeking privilege escalation opportunities.