📧 info@ciso.sa | 📱 +966550939344 | Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
🔧 Scheduled Maintenance — Saturday 2:00-4:00 AM AST. Some features may be temporarily unavailable.    ●   
💎
Pro Plan 50% Off Unlock all AI features, unlimited reports, and priority support. Upgrade
Search Center
ESC to close
Global phishing Financial Services, Technology, Multiple Sectors CRITICAL 3h Global insider Education HIGH 21h Global supply_chain Software Development and Technology HIGH 1d Global apt Government/Critical Infrastructure CRITICAL 1d Global vulnerability Enterprise Software / Data Analytics CRITICAL 1d Global vulnerability Artificial Intelligence and Technology HIGH 1d Global general Technology and Artificial Intelligence MEDIUM 1d Global general Technology and Artificial Intelligence HIGH 1d Global vulnerability Higher Education CRITICAL 1d Global data_breach Government HIGH 1d Global phishing Financial Services, Technology, Multiple Sectors CRITICAL 3h Global insider Education HIGH 21h Global supply_chain Software Development and Technology HIGH 1d Global apt Government/Critical Infrastructure CRITICAL 1d Global vulnerability Enterprise Software / Data Analytics CRITICAL 1d Global vulnerability Artificial Intelligence and Technology HIGH 1d Global general Technology and Artificial Intelligence MEDIUM 1d Global general Technology and Artificial Intelligence HIGH 1d Global vulnerability Higher Education CRITICAL 1d Global data_breach Government HIGH 1d Global phishing Financial Services, Technology, Multiple Sectors CRITICAL 3h Global insider Education HIGH 21h Global supply_chain Software Development and Technology HIGH 1d Global apt Government/Critical Infrastructure CRITICAL 1d Global vulnerability Enterprise Software / Data Analytics CRITICAL 1d Global vulnerability Artificial Intelligence and Technology HIGH 1d Global general Technology and Artificial Intelligence MEDIUM 1d Global general Technology and Artificial Intelligence HIGH 1d Global vulnerability Higher Education CRITICAL 1d Global data_breach Government HIGH 1d
Vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-5617

High
CWE-639 — Weakness Type
Published: Apr 15, 2026  ·  Modified: Apr 22, 2026  ·  Source: NVD
CVSS v3
8.8
🔗 NVD Official
📄 Description (English)

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.

🤖 AI Executive Summary

The Login as User WordPress plugin (versions ≤1.0.3) contains a critical privilege escalation vulnerability allowing authenticated users to become administrators by manipulating a client-side cookie. Attackers with Subscriber-level access can exploit the unverified oclaup_original_admin cookie to bypass authentication checks and gain full administrative control. This vulnerability poses immediate risk to WordPress installations in Saudi organizations, particularly those managing sensitive government, banking, or healthcare content.

📄 Description (Arabic)

🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 23, 2026 18:11
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
High impact for Saudi organizations using WordPress with the Login as User plugin. Most at-risk sectors: (1) Government agencies and NCA-regulated entities managing citizen data and e-services; (2) Banking sector (SAMA-regulated) using WordPress for customer portals or internal systems; (3) Healthcare providers (MOH-regulated) storing patient information; (4) Telecom operators (CITC-regulated) managing customer accounts; (5) Energy sector (ARAMCO, SEC) with WordPress-based systems. The vulnerability enables complete account takeover and data breach scenarios, particularly dangerous in multi-tenant WordPress environments common in Saudi government digitalization initiatives.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government and Public Administration Banking and Financial Services Healthcare and Medical Services Telecommunications Energy and Utilities Education E-commerce and Retail
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
8.5
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Disable the Login as User plugin immediately across all WordPress installations
2. Audit WordPress user accounts for unauthorized administrative access created after plugin installation
3. Review WordPress access logs (wp-admin, wp-login.php) for suspicious privilege escalation attempts
4. Force password reset for all administrative accounts
5. Check for malicious cookies (oclaup_original_admin) in active sessions

PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Remove the vulnerable plugin version entirely until patch is released
2. Monitor official plugin repository for security updates
3. If plugin functionality is critical, implement alternative user-switching solutions with proper server-side verification

COMPENSATING CONTROLS:
1. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block requests containing oclaup_original_admin cookie
2. Restrict WordPress admin access to specific IP ranges (government/corporate networks only)
3. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for all WordPress administrative accounts
4. Implement WordPress security hardening: disable user enumeration, limit login attempts, use security headers
5. Deploy WordPress security plugins (Wordfence, Sucuri) with real-time threat detection
6. Implement database activity monitoring to detect unauthorized privilege changes

DETECTION RULES:
1. Monitor for wp-admin access from non-administrative user sessions
2. Alert on user role changes from Subscriber/Contributor to Administrator
3. Log all cookie modifications, especially oclaup_original_admin
4. Track failed and successful authentication attempts with privilege escalation patterns
5. Monitor wp_usermeta table for unauthorized capability modifications
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تعطيل مكون Login as User فوراً عبر جميع تثبيتات WordPress
2. تدقيق حسابات مستخدمي WordPress للوصول الإداري غير المصرح به المنشأ بعد تثبيت المكون
3. مراجعة سجلات وصول WordPress (wp-admin, wp-login.php) لمحاولات تصعيد امتيازات مريبة
4. فرض إعادة تعيين كلمة المرور لجميع الحسابات الإدارية
5. التحقق من ملفات تعريف الارتباط الضارة (oclaup_original_admin) في الجلسات النشطة

إرشادات التصحيح:
1. إزالة إصدار المكون الضعيف بالكامل حتى يتم إصدار التصحيح
2. مراقبة مستودع المكون الرسمي للتحديثات الأمنية
3. إذا كانت وظيفة المكون حرجة، تنفيذ حلول بديلة لتبديل المستخدمين مع التحقق الصحيح من جانب الخادم

الضوابط التعويضية:
1. تنفيذ قواعد جدار حماية تطبيقات الويب (WAF) لحظر الطلبات التي تحتوي على ملف تعريف الارتباط oclaup_original_admin
2. تقييد وصول مسؤول WordPress إلى نطاقات IP محددة (الشبكات الحكومية/الشركات فقط)
3. تفعيل المصادقة متعددة العوامل (2FA) لجميع حسابات WordPress الإدارية
4. تنفيذ تقسية أمان WordPress: تعطيل تعداد المستخدمين، تحديد محاولات تسجيل الدخول، استخدام رؤوس الأمان
5. نشر مكونات أمان WordPress (Wordfence, Sucuri) مع الكشف عن التهديدات في الوقت الفعلي
6. تنفيذ مراقبة نشاط قاعدة البيانات للكشف عن تغييرات الامتيازات غير المصرح بها

قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة وصول wp-admin من جلسات المستخدمين غير الإداريين
2. التنبيه على تغييرات دور المستخدم من Subscriber/Contributor إلى Administrator
3. تسجيل جميع تعديلات ملفات تعريف الارتباط، خاصة oclaup_original_admin
4. تتبع محاولات المصادقة الفاشلة والناجحة مع أنماط تصعيد الامتيازات
5. مراقبة جدول wp_usermeta لتعديلات القدرات غير المصرح بها
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 - User Access Management and Authentication ECC 2024 A.5.2.1 - User Registration and De-registration ECC 2024 A.5.3.1 - Access Rights Review ECC 2024 A.9.2.1 - User Identification and Authentication ECC 2024 A.9.4.3 - Password Management
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.AM-1 - Asset Management SAMA CSF PR.AC-1 - Access Control Policy SAMA CSF PR.AC-4 - Access Rights Management SAMA CSF DE.CM-1 - Audit Logging SAMA CSF RS.MI-2 - Incident Response and Management
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.2 - User Registration and Access Provisioning ISO 27001:2022 A.5.3 - Access Entitlement ISO 27001:2022 A.8.2 - Privileged Access Rights ISO 27001:2022 A.8.3 - Information Access Restriction ISO 27001:2022 A.12.4.1 - Event Logging
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
PCI DSS 2.1 - Change Default Passwords PCI DSS 6.5.10 - Broken Authentication PCI DSS 7.1 - Limit Access to System Components PCI DSS 8.1 - User Identification and Authentication PCI DSS 10.2 - Implement Automated Audit Trails
📊 CVSS Score
8.8
/ 10.0 — High
📊 CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack VectorN — None / Network
Attack ComplexityL — Low / Local
Privileges RequiredL — Low / Local
User InteractionN — None / Network
ScopeU — Unchanged
ConfidentialityH — High
IntegrityH — High
AvailabilityH — High
📋 Quick Facts
Severity High
CVSS Score8.8
CWECWE-639
EPSS0.04%
Exploit No
Patch ✗ No
Published 2026-04-15
Source Feed nvd
Views 4
🇸🇦 Saudi Risk Score
8.5
/ 10.0 — Saudi Risk
Priority: CRITICAL
🏷️ Tags
CWE-639
Share this CVE

💬 Comments

0
Loading comments
📣 Found this valuable?
Share it with your cybersecurity network
in LinkedIn 𝕏 X / Twitter 💬 WhatsApp ✈ Telegram
🍪 Privacy Preferences
CISO Consulting — Compliant with Saudi Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL)
We use cookies and similar technologies to provide the best experience on our platform. You can choose which types you accept.
🔒
Essential Always On
Required for the website to function properly. Cannot be disabled.
📋 Sessions, CSRF tokens, authentication, language preferences
📊
Analytics
Help us understand how visitors use the site and improve performance.
📋 Page views, session duration, traffic sources, performance metrics
⚙️
Functional
Enable enhanced features like content personalization and preferences.
📋 Dark/light theme, font size, custom dashboards, saved filters
📣
Marketing
Used to deliver content and ads relevant to your interests.
📋 Campaign tracking, retargeting, social media analytics
Privacy Policy →
CISO AI Assistant
Ask anything · Documents · Support
🔐

Introduce Yourself

Enter your details to access the full assistant

Your info is private and never shared
💬
CyberAssist
Online · responds in seconds
5 / 5
🔐 Verify Your Identity

Enter your email to receive a verification code before submitting a support request.

Enter to send · / for commands 0 / 2000
CISO AI · Powered by Anthropic Claude
✦ Quick Survey Help Us Improve CISO Consulting Your feedback shapes the future of our platform — takes less than 2 minutes.
⚠ Please answer this question to continue

How would you rate your overall experience with our platform?

Rate from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent)

🎉
Thank you!
Your response has been recorded.