Groups <= 4.6.0 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via 'groups_join' Shortcode
The Groups – Memberships and Access Control plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 4.6.0. This is due to the groups_join() function deriving group-join eligibility from the ambient post's author capabilities via the global $post->post_author rather than from the currently authenticated user's own capabilities, while simultaneously minting and returning a valid groups-join-data hash and WordPress nonce for the caller in the same response — eliminating all authorization barriers to self-enrollment. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to enroll themselves into any group including privileged groups carrying the groups_admin_groups capability, and to subsequently create and join a group containing every registered WordPress capability, effectively escalating their privileges to Administrator. Exploitation requires the attacker to supply an Administrator-authored post ID via the post_ID parameter of the authenticated wp_ajax_parse_media_shortcode handler in order to establish the privileged ambient post context used by the flawed authorization check.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress plugin | Groups – Memberships and Access Control | <= 4.6.0 | 4.7.0 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-269- Platform
- WordPress
- Package
Groups – Memberships and Access Control- Disclosed
- 26.09.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 10:23
Sources and licenses
Wordfence Intelligence - e86dddc9-c1d3-426b-8ec7-2e56dc3c2379 - Wordfence Intelligence
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Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc.
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Vulnerability history: Groups – Memberships and Access Control
All published vulnerabilities of this package (WordPress plugin), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 3
- First → latest
- 11.2025 09.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- High 1
- Medium 2
Disclosures per year
- 2025: 1
- 2026: 2
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Groups <= 4.6.0 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via 'groups_join' Shortcode this entry
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