CVE-2026-118205

HIGH CVSS 7.4 PoC Available

Published: 2026-10-30

Modified: 2026-10-30

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AI Threat Summary

CVE-2026-118205 is a high-severity vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.4 affecting the target software. Authentication can be bypassed allowing unauthenticated access. Threat hunters should monitor for exploit attempts and apply vendor patches immediately.

Description

The Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 6.8.7 via the `page_id` parameter of the `register_user()` function. The vulnerability exists because the handler's post status deny-list rejects `future`, `draft`, and `pending` but admits `inherit` — the status carried by every WordPress revision — allowing an attacker to substitute a revision ID for a live page ID, while a flawed "last saved by administrator" check reads `post_author` on revisions (which reflects the editing administrator) rather than the `_edit_last` meta that is never copied to revisions, and the nonce gate is rendered ineffective because any unauthenticated visitor can freely obtain a valid nonce via the `wp_ajax_nopriv_eael_get_token` endpoint. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to register an account with a role as high as Editor — gaining capabilities including `edit_others_posts`, `publish_pages`, `upload_files`, and `unfiltered_html` — by naming a revision whose `_elementor_data` contains an elevated role an administrator previously saved and later reverted on a page bearing the Login/Register widget. Successful exploitation requires that the site has "Anyone can register" enabled and that an administrator has at some point saved and then reverted a non-default "New User Role" on an affected page.

Attack Chain

Reconnaissance

Attacker identifies authentication endpoint and tests for bypass conditions

Initial Access

Attacker exploits CVE-2026-118205 authentication flaw to gain unauthorized access without valid credentials

Discovery

Attacker enumerates accessible resources, users, and configurations

Collection

Attacker exfiltrates sensitive data accessible without proper authorization

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

T1078 Valid Accounts

Initial Access

Authentication bypass grants attacker access as legitimate user

T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism

Privilege Escalation

Bypassed auth may grant elevated or admin-level permissions

Indicators of Compromise

Type	Value	Description
user_agent	`Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; exploit/1.0)`	Generic exploit scanner user agent pattern
url	`/api/vuln-endpoint?payload=<malicious>`	Exploit attempt against application endpoint — monitor access logs for anomalous params

Remediation

1. Apply vendor-supplied security patches immediately. 2. If patches are unavailable, apply recommended mitigations from the vendor advisory. 3. Enable WAF rules or IDS signatures to detect exploitation attempts. 4. Monitor logs for indicators of compromise listed above. 5. Implement network segmentation to limit blast radius if exploitation occurs. 6. Subscribe to vendor security advisories for this product.

Quick Facts

CVE ID	CVE-2026-118205
CVSS Score	7.4
Vector	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`
Published	2026-10-30
Exploited	No
CISA KEV	No
PoC	Available

References

External Resources

NVD Entry BleepingComputer The Hacker News