# CVE-2026-5617: Login as User <= 1.0.3 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via 'oclaup_original_admin' Cookie

> Authenticated subscribers can escalate to administrator by manipulating a client-controlled cookie in the Login as User WordPress 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:** 15 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-679q-mrgx-wpvr

## What is CVE-2026-5617?

CVE-2026-5617 is a high-severity vulnerability in royalnavneet Login as User – Switch User & WooCommerce Login as Customer, published on 15 Apr 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Login as User plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.3. This is due to the handle_return_to_admin() function trusting a client-controlled cookie (oclaup_original_admin) to determine which user to authenticate as, without any server-side verification that the cookie value was legitimately set during an admin-initiated user switch. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to escalate their privileges to administrator by setting the oclaup_original_admin cookie to an administrator's user ID and triggering the "Return to Admin" functionality.

Weakness: CWE-639 (Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-5617?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-5617?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-5617 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-5617 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-5617 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-5617 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-5617 is a high-severity vulnerability in royalnavneet Login as User – Switch User & WooCommerce Login as Customer, published on 15 Apr 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-2026-5617 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: royalnavneet Login as User – Switch User & WooCommerce Login as Customer. 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-2026-5617/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-5617/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-5617
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-5617
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-5617

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-5617/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.