📄 Description (English)
The Highland Software Custom Role Manager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in versions up to and including 1.0.0. This is due to insufficient authorization checks in the hscrm_save_user_roles() function, which is hooked to the personal_options_update action accessible by any authenticated user. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access or higher, to potentially modify user roles via the profile update form.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2026-7106 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Highland Software Custom Role Manager WordPress plugin (v1.0.0 and earlier) that allows authenticated users with Subscriber-level access to escalate their privileges by modifying user roles through the profile update form. The vulnerability stems from insufficient authorization checks in the hscrm_save_user_roles() function. With a CVSS score of 8.8 and no patch currently available, this poses a significant risk to WordPress installations using this plugin, particularly in Saudi organizations managing multi-user environments.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 30, 2026 23:30
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability poses significant risk to Saudi organizations using WordPress with the Custom Role Manager plugin, particularly: (1) Government agencies and NCA-regulated entities managing multi-user administrative systems; (2) Banking and financial institutions (SAMA-regulated) using WordPress for internal portals or customer-facing applications; (3) Healthcare organizations managing patient data access controls; (4) Telecommunications companies (STC, Mobily) with WordPress-based internal systems; (5) Educational institutions and research centers. The privilege escalation could allow attackers to gain administrative access, compromise data integrity, and bypass access controls critical to Saudi regulatory compliance.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government and Public Administration
Banking and Financial Services
Healthcare and Medical Services
Telecommunications
Energy and Utilities
Education and Research
Retail and E-commerce
Insurance
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1078 - Valid Accounts
T1078.003 - Valid Accounts: Local Accounts
T1548 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism
T1548.002 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Bypass User Account Control
T1547 - Boot or Logon Autostart Execution
T1098 - Account Manipulation
T1098.001 - Account Manipulation: Additional Cloud Credentials
T1136 - Create Account
T1136.001 - Create Account: Local Account
T1087 - Account Discovery
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
8.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Disable the Highland Software Custom Role Manager plugin immediately across all WordPress installations
2. Audit all user accounts for unauthorized role changes and privilege escalations
3. Review WordPress user logs and audit trails for suspicious profile update activities
4. Reset passwords for all administrative and privileged accounts
5. Check for unauthorized admin accounts created during the vulnerability window
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Monitor Highland Software's official repository and security advisories for patch release
2. Do not re-enable the plugin until a patched version (>1.0.0) is available and verified
3. Test any updates in a staging environment before production deployment
COMPENSATING CONTROLS (until patch available):
1. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block personal_options_update action parameters containing role modifications
2. Restrict access to WordPress user profile pages to specific IP ranges
3. Implement additional authentication layer (2FA) for all user accounts
4. Deploy file integrity monitoring on WordPress core and plugin files
5. Use WordPress security plugins to monitor and log all user role changes
6. Implement principle of least privilege - remove unnecessary user accounts
DETECTION RULES:
1. Monitor WordPress logs for personal_options_update action with hscrm_save_user_roles function calls
2. Alert on any user role changes initiated from profile update forms
3. Track failed and successful authentication attempts to WordPress admin
4. Monitor for POST requests to wp-admin/profile.php with role parameters
5. Implement SIEM rules to detect privilege escalation patterns
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تعطيل إضافة Highland Software Custom Role Manager فوراً على جميع تثبيتات WordPress
2. تدقيق جميع حسابات المستخدمين للتحقق من تغييرات الأدوار غير المصرح بها
3. مراجعة سجلات WordPress وسجلات التدقيق للأنشطة المريبة في تحديث الملف الشخصي
4. إعادة تعيين كلمات المرور لجميع الحسابات الإدارية والمميزة
5. التحقق من حسابات المسؤول غير المصرح بها التي تم إنشاؤها خلال فترة الثغرة
إرشادات التصحيح:
1. مراقبة مستودع Highland Software الرسمي والتنبيهات الأمنية لإصدار التصحيح
2. عدم إعادة تفعيل الإضافة حتى يتوفر إصدار مصحح (>1.0.0) والتحقق منه
3. اختبار أي تحديثات في بيئة التجريب قبل نشرها في الإنتاج
الضوابط البديلة (حتى توفر التصحيح):
1. تنفيذ قواعد جدار حماية تطبيقات الويب (WAF) لحظر معاملات إجراء personal_options_update التي تحتوي على تعديلات الأدوار
2. تقييد الوصول إلى صفحات ملف تعريف مستخدم WordPress على نطاقات IP محددة
3. تنفيذ طبقة مصادقة إضافية (2FA) لجميع حسابات المستخدمين
4. نشر مراقبة سلامة الملفات على ملفات WordPress الأساسية والإضافات
5. استخدام إضافات أمان WordPress لمراقبة وتسجيل جميع تغييرات أدوار المستخدمين
6. تنفيذ مبدأ أقل امتياز - إزالة حسابات المستخدمين غير الضرورية
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة سجلات WordPress لإجراء personal_options_update مع استدعاءات دالة hscrm_save_user_roles
2. التنبيه على أي تغييرات في أدوار المستخدمين التي تم بدؤها من نماذج تحديث الملف الشخصي
3. تتبع محاولات المصادقة الفاشلة والناجحة لـ WordPress admin
4. مراقبة طلبات POST إلى wp-admin/profile.php مع معاملات الأدوار
5. تنفيذ قواعد SIEM للكشف عن أنماط تصعيد الامتيازات
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
A.5.1.1 - Information Security Policies and Procedures
A.6.1.1 - Internal Organization - Access Control
A.6.1.2 - User Registration and De-registration
A.6.1.3 - User Access Provisioning
A.6.1.4 - Access Rights Review
A.6.2.1 - Restriction of Access to Information
A.6.2.2 - Restriction of Access to Systems and Applications
A.9.1.1 - Access Control Policy
A.9.2.1 - User Registration and De-registration
A.9.2.5 - Access Rights Review
A.9.4.3 - Password Management System
🔵 SAMA CSF
Governance & Risk Management - Access Control Framework
Information Security - Access Control and Authentication
Information Security - User Access Management
Operational Resilience - System Monitoring and Logging
Incident Management - Detection and Response
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
5.15 - Access Control
5.16 - Identification and Authentication
5.17 - Access Rights
5.18 - Information Security in Supplier Relationships
6.6 - Segregation of Duties
8.2 - Information Security Event Logging
8.3 - Protection of Information Systems Event Logs
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
Requirement 2 - Default Security Parameters
Requirement 6 - Secure Development and Vulnerability Management
Requirement 7 - Restrict Access to Cardholder Data
Requirement 8 - Identify and Authenticate Access
Requirement 10 - Track and Monitor Access to Network Resources
🔗 References & Sources 8
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https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/highland-software-custom-role-manager/tags/1...
security@wordfence.com
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/highland-software-custom-role-manager/tags/1...
security@wordfence.com
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/highland-software-custom-role-manager/tags/1...
security@wordfence.com
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/highland-software-custom-role-manager/tags/1...
security@wordfence.com
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/highland-software-custom-role-manager/trunk/...
security@wordfence.com
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/highland-software-custom-role-manager/trunk/...
security@wordfence.com
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/highland-software-custom-role-manager/trunk/...
security@wordfence.com
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/80a258a6-634c-4d7d-981f-bcbc0...
security@wordfence.com