CVE-2026-85659 PilotPress <= 2.0.43 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via Account Takeover via 'username' Parameter
Authenticated attackers can escalate privileges to Administrator by exploiting a race condition in the PilotPress plugin's account synchronization logic.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-85659?
CVE-2026-85659 is a high-severity vulnerability in ontraport PilotPress, published on 16 Oct 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The PilotPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation via Account Takeover in all versions up to, and including, 2.0.43. The vulnerability exists because the `update_cc_details()` AJAX handler forwards an attacker-supplied `username` parameter to ONTRAPORT via `api_call('update_cc_details', ...)` before performing the local `username_exists()` collision check, and aborts without rolling back the remote rename when a collision is detected — leaving the remote ONTRAPORT contact renamed to an existing WordPress Administrator's login. On a subsequent login attempt, `user_login()` (hooked to `wp_authenticate`) authenticates against ONTRAPORT using the renamed login and the attacker's own password, resolves the local WordPress user row via `get_user_by('login', $username)` — which now selects the real Administrator's row — and calls `wp_set_password()` against that Administrator's user ID; because the `user_level != 10` guard only suppresses PilotPress's own cookie issuance rather than returning a `WP_Error` to core, WordPress proceeds to validate the newly-synchronized password and issues a full Administrator authentication cookie to the attacker. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access and above — specifically any PilotPress member holding a valid ONTRAPORT contact and the Customer Center nonce — to fully take over an Administrator account.
Weakness: CWE-269
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-85659?
How do I fix CVE-2026-85659?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-85659 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2026-85659 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-85659 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-ph8g-mcqh-5p98.