Description

Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation in Abandoned Cart Pro for WooCommerce <= 10.4.0 versions.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "9.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-20T12:16:36.063Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-20T12:16:36.063Z",
  "executiveSummary": "This security analysis evaluates an unauthenticated privilege escalation vulnerability affecting Abandoned Cart Pro for WooCommerce versions 10.4.0 and below. The flaw allows unauthenticated remote attackers to elevate their privileges within the WordPress environment, posing a critical risk to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the underlying web application.\nThe vulnerability stems from improper access control mechanisms and insufficient validation of incoming requests within the affected plugin components. An attacker capable of interacting with the web application over the network can exploit this flaw without possessing any prior credentials or legitimate user privileges. Successful exploitation can lead to unauthorized administrative access, allowing malicious actors to execute arbitrary code, modify site configurations, inject malicious content, or compromise other registered users and administrators.\nThe risk implication is severe, as compromise of the administrative tier within a WordPress CMS typically results in complete system takeover. Exploitation requirements are minimal, relying solely on network connectivity to the vulnerable endpoint exposed by the plugin. Organizations utilizing affected versions must prioritize remediation to neutralize the threat of unauthorized privilege elevation.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability exists within the request handling and authorization logic of Abandoned Cart Pro for WooCommerce versions 10.4.0 and below. Specifically, the vulnerable component fails to adequately verify the authentication status and authorization levels of incoming HTTP requests before executing sensitive backend operations or state-changing functions associated with user session management or privilege assignment.\nRoot cause analysis indicates an absence of strict capability checks and nonce validations on specific AJAX actions or REST API endpoints registered by the plugin. In a standard WordPress architecture, administrative functions require explicit verification using functions such as current_user_can() and verification of cryptographic nonces to prevent cross-site request forgery and unauthorized execution. The omission of these defensive programming practices in the vulnerable endpoints allows an external actor to invoke privileged methods directly.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: First, the unauthenticated attacker identifies the exposed plugin endpoint responsible for handling specific cart recovery or user state transitions. Second, the attacker crafts a malicious HTTP request directed at this endpoint, embedding parameters designed to manipulate user roles or create administrative accounts. Third, because the vulnerable code paths lack proper authentication enforcement, the application processes the payload and executes the requested privileged actions. Finally, the attacker achieves privilege escalation, gaining administrative or high-level capabilities within the WordPress installation.\nThe network exposure is absolute for any internet-facing deployment running the vulnerable software, as the endpoints are accessible via standard HTTP/HTTPS protocols without requiring authentication cookies or headers. The post-exploitation impact includes full administrative takeover of the WordPress site, database manipulation, deployment of persistent web shells, redirection of site traffic, and potential pivoting to underlying server infrastructure."
}