User Registration & Membership: Improper Privilege Management
CVE-2026-11961 is a high-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in User Registration & Membership, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.1 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists version 5.2.3 as the first without the flaw, so updating User Registration & Membership to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.38% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update User Registration & Membership to 5.2.3 or a later version.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| User Registration & Membership | User Registration & Membership | before 5.2.3 | 5.2.3 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CISA (ADP).
Official description
The User Registration & Membership WordPress plugin before 5.2.3 does not validate that the membership tier submitted during public registration is one of the tiers allowed by the registration form before assigning that tier's associated user role, allowing unauthenticated users to register into an arbitrary published membership tier and obtain its role — up to administrator when such a tier exists.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Improper Privilege Management
The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
- Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
- Consider following the principle of separation of privilege. Require multiple conditions to be met before permitting access to a system resource.
More Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities (CWE-269)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
References
Other references
Other vulnerabilities in User Registration & Membership
- 8.1 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.2 High severity
- 7.2 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
Recent Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
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