# CVE-2026-15017: Privilege escalation in MDJM Event Management

> Attackers can escalate privileges to Administrator by exploiting missing capability checks in the MDJM Event Management plugin.

- **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:** 23 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 23 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-wwx3-3qmm-8rch

## What is CVE-2026-15017?

CVE-2026-15017 is a high-severity vulnerability in MDJM Event Management, published on 23 Jul 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The MDJM Event Management plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.7.8.4. This is due to missing capability checks and nonce verification in the `MDJM_Permissions::set_permissions()` and `MDJM_Employee_Manager::init()` functions, combined with the absence of server-side allow-list validation on the `employee_roles[]` and `new_role` POST parameters before they are passed to `mdjm_set_employee_role()` and `WP_User::set_role()`. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to grant arbitrary MDJM capabilities — including `mdjm_employee` and `mdjm_employee_edit` — to any registered WordPress role, and subsequently leverage a subscriber-level account to escalate privileges to Administrator. `MDJM_Permissions::init()` is registered on the public WordPress `init` hook without any authentication gate, meaning the role-manipulation endpoint is reachable without any prior login.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-15017?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-15017?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-15017 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-15017 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-15017 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-15017 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-15017 is a high-severity vulnerability in MDJM Event Management, published on 23 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-2026-15017 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: MDJM Event Management. 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-2026-15017/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-15017/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-15017
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-15017
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-15017

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-15017/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.