# CVE-2026-17553: Privilege escalation in Shopping Cart & eCommerce Store

> Authenticated Store Managers can escalate privileges to administrator by manipulating AJAX options, allowing full site control.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 9 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-p65j-77g8-24jh

## What is CVE-2026-17553?

CVE-2026-17553 is a high-severity vulnerability in levelfourstorefront Shopping Cart & eCommerce Store, published on 9 Sep 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The WP EasyCart plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation in versions up to, and including, 5.9.3. This is due to the ec_ajax_save_page_default_options() AJAX handler iterating over every $_POST key and passing it directly into update_option() without any allowlist, while gating the handler only on 'manage_options' OR the plugin's custom 'wpec_manager' capability. The plugin's built-in 'wpec_store_manager' role holds 'wpec_manager' but not 'manage_options', and the required nonce is emitted on frontend product/category templates that render for any user with 'wpec_manager'. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Store Manager-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to administrator by updating arbitrary WordPress options such as default_role='administrator' and users_can_register='1', then self-registering a new account that is assigned the administrator role.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-17553?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-17553?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-17553 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-17553 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-17553 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-17553 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-17553 is a high-severity vulnerability in levelfourstorefront Shopping Cart & eCommerce Store, published on 9 Sep 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-17553 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: levelfourstorefront Shopping Cart & eCommerce Store. 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-2026-17553/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-17553/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-17553
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-17553
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-17553

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-17553/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.