CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-12144NVD status: Deferred

Wholesale for WooCommerce: Improper Privilege Management

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-12144 is a high-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in Wholesale for WooCommerce from Saadiqbal, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected Wholesale for WooCommerce versions: 2.0.5 and earlier. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.52% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of Wholesale for WooCommerce you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
SaadiqbalWholesale for WooCommerce2.0.5 and earlierNot stated

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
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
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:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (wordfence.com).

Official description

The Wholesale for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 2.0.5. This is due to the `save_requests_meta()` function applying only `sanitize_text_field()` to the `user_role_set` POST parameter before passing it directly to `WP_User::add_role()`, with no allowlist validation against permitted wholesale roles and no capability check such as `current_user_can('promote_users')` or `current_user_can('manage_options')`. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with author-level access and above to escalate their privileges to administrator by supplying `administrator` as the `user_role_set` value in a crafted request. The function is gated only by a nonce (`request_user_role_nonce`) that is rendered in the meta box on the `wwp_requests` post edit screen; because the post type is registered with `capability_type => 'post'`, any author-level user who has authored a `wwp_requests` post — such as one created via the wholesale registration form — can access this nonce and submit the role-assignment request.

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

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities

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