# CVE-2026-15992: WP Password Policy <= 3.7.1 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation

> Authenticated attackers can escalate privileges to Administrator by exploiting missing authorization checks in the WP Password Policy 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:** 28 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 29 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rghc-64r6-9px3

## What is CVE-2026-15992?

CVE-2026-15992 is a high-severity vulnerability in teydeastudio WP Password Policy, published on 28 Jul 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The WP Password Policy plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to and including 3.7.1. This is due to missing authorization checks and nonce verification in the `get_user()` function of the `Module_Password_Hint` class, which unconditionally calls `WP_User::set_role()` with the attacker-supplied `role` parameter on any account resolved via `$_POST['user_login']`, without confirming the requesting user holds the capability to assign roles. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to escalate their own privileges to Administrator by submitting a crafted POST request — with `action` set to `createuser` and `role` set to `administrator` — to the password-reset form endpoint. The vulnerable code path is reachable via the `password_hint` filter hooked during the WordPress password-reset form render, meaning an attacker need only possess a valid password-reset cookie to reach the sink.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-15992?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-15992?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-15992 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-15992 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-15992 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-15992 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-15992 is a high-severity vulnerability in teydeastudio WP Password Policy, published on 28 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-2026-15992 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: teydeastudio WP Password Policy. 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-2026-15992/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-15992/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-15992
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-15992
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-15992

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-15992/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.