Easy Digital Downloads Plugin up to 3.7.2 on WordPress PayPal Checkout maybe_log_in_after_capture email improper authentication

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Easy Digital Downloads Plugin up to 3.7.2. It has been rated as critical. Impacted is the function PurchaseUser::maybe_log_in_after_capture of the component PayPal Checkout. This manipulation of the argument email causes improper authentication. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-120538. The attack can be initiated remotely. There is not any exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Easy Digital Downloads Plugin up to 3.7.2. It has been declared as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function PurchaseUser::maybe_log_in_after_capture of the component PayPal Checkout. The manipulation of the argument email with an unknown input leads to a improper authentication vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-287. When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

The Easy Digital Downloads plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass leading to administrator account takeover in all versions up to, and including, 3.7.2. During a PayPal guest checkout, the email address entered in the guest-checkout field is trusted as proof of identity: edd_get_purchase_form_user() binds the new guest order to an existing WordPress user purely on an email-address match, rewriting the order's user_id to that user's ID. The PayPal capture sink PurchaseUser::maybe_log_in_after_capture() then looked the user up by the order email (get_user_by( 'email', $order->email )) and, when $order->user_id equalled that user's ID (which the email-binding step guarantees), issued an authenticated session with wp_set_auth_cookie(). An unauthenticated attacker who starts a guest checkout using an administrator's email address (where that administrator has no existing EDD customer record) and completes the PayPal purchase flow therefore receives an authenticated session as that administrator — a full account takeover. The same sink is reachable through the standard PayPal checkout and the REST UnbrandedCard and Fastlane flows.

It is possible to read the advisory at wordfence.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-120538 since 11/02/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 11/03/2026).

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

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Productinfo

Type

• WordPress Plugin

Name

• Easy Digital Downloads Plugin

Version

• 3.7.0
• 3.7.1
• 3.7.2

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