# CVE-2026-12144: Wholesale for WooCommerce <= 2.0.5 - Authenticated (Author+) Privilege Escalation via 'user_role_set' Parameter

> Authenticated authors can escalate privileges to administrator by manipulating the user_role_set parameter due to missing capability checks.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 29 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fgx3-jj2q-3c9j

## What is CVE-2026-12144?

CVE-2026-12144 is a high-severity vulnerability in saadiqbal Wholesale for WooCommerce, published on 29 Jul 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### 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.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-12144?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-12144?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-12144 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-12144 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-12144 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-12144 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-12144 is a high-severity vulnerability in saadiqbal Wholesale for WooCommerce, published on 29 Jul 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-12144 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: saadiqbal Wholesale for WooCommerce. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-12144/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-12144/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-12144
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-12144
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-12144

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-12144/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.