GHSA-J857-HXGM-CVXF
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-06-09 09:32 – Updated: 2026-06-09 09:32The Events Calendar for GeoDirectory plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in versions up to and including 2.3.28. This is due to the ajax_ayi_action() handler only applying strip_tags(esc_sql()) — with no allow-list — to the attacker-controlled $_POST['type'] and $_POST['postid'] values before forwarding them to update_ayi_data(), which calls update_user_meta($current_user->ID, $rsvp_args['type'], $posts). By passing type=wp_capabilities and postid=administrator, an attacker writes ['subscriber'=>true,'administrator'=>'administrator'] into their own wp_capabilities user meta; WP_User::get_role_caps() then treats the 'administrator' array key as an active role on the next request. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to Administrator.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-11616"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-269"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-06-09T09:16:28Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "The Events Calendar for GeoDirectory plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in versions up to and including 2.3.28. This is due to the ajax_ayi_action() handler only applying strip_tags(esc_sql()) \u2014 with no allow-list \u2014 to the attacker-controlled $_POST[\u0027type\u0027] and $_POST[\u0027postid\u0027] values before forwarding them to update_ayi_data(), which calls update_user_meta($current_user-\u003eID, $rsvp_args[\u0027type\u0027], $posts). By passing type=wp_capabilities and postid=administrator, an attacker writes [\u0027subscriber\u0027=\u003etrue,\u0027administrator\u0027=\u003e\u0027administrator\u0027] into their own wp_capabilities user meta; WP_User::get_role_caps() then treats the \u0027administrator\u0027 array key as an active role on the next request. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to Administrator.",
"id": "GHSA-j857-hxgm-cvxf",
"modified": "2026-06-09T09:32:07Z",
"published": "2026-06-09T09:32:07Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-11616"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/events-for-geodirectory/tags/2.3.28/includes/class-geodir-event-ayi.php#L154"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/events-for-geodirectory/tags/2.3.28/includes/class-geodir-event-ayi.php#L357"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=\u0026sfph_mail=\u0026reponame=\u0026old=3533585%40events-for-geodirectory\u0026new=3533585%40events-for-geodirectory\u0026sfp_email=\u0026sfph_mail="
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/11ba187b-1fe4-4077-ad9d-a07660133e91?source=cve"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.