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Easy Elements for Elementor CVE-2026-9018

| EUVDEUVD-2026-31410 HIGH
Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269)
2026-05-22 Wordfence GHSA-jvg6-x4cw-2wj7
8.8
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Wordfence
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Recon
    Identify site running plugin
  2. Delivery
    GET public page with Login/Register widget
  3. Exploit
    Scrape easy_elements_nonce from DOM
  4. Install
    POST eel_register with custom_meta[wp_capabilities][administrator]=1
  5. C2
    Account created with administrator role
  6. Execute
    Log in to wp-admin
  7. Impact
    Upload malicious plugin for persistent RCE

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Least privilege enforcement
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Two specific site-side preconditions must hold: WordPress user registration must be enabled (Settings → General → Membership: 'Anyone can register'), and at least one publicly reachable page must render the plugin's Login/Register widget so that the easy_elements_nonce required by the eel_register AJAX handler is emitted into the page DOM where any unauthenticated visitor can retrieve it via GET. No authentication, no user interaction, and no special browser conditions are required beyond those two deployment settings. The CVSS vector lists PR:L but the description and the use of the wp_ajax_nopriv_ hook confirm the attack path is unauthenticated.

Impact

The CVSS base score of 8.8 with vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H reflects high impact and low complexity, but the PR:L assignment conflicts with the description, which explicitly says unauthenticated attackers can exploit the bug via the wp_ajax_nopriv_ hook - a true PR:N path would push the score to 9.8. Defenders should treat this as effectively unauthenticated. No EPSS score, KEV listing, or POC availability data was provided, so exploitation likelihood signals are absent; however, the vulnerability is trivial to exploit (single crafted POST), targets a public-facing CMS plugin, and was disclosed by Wordfence - meaning automated WordPress scanners and exploit frameworks typically pick up such issues quickly. Realistic priority is HIGH for any site running this plugin with registration enabled.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker visits any public page on the target WordPress site that renders the plugin's Login/Register widget, scrapes the easy_elements_nonce value from the page DOM via a simple GET, then sends a single POST to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=eel_register and custom_meta[wp_capabilities][administrator]=1 along with chosen username, email, and password. WordPress creates the account with the default role and the handler then overwrites wp_capabilities, leaving the attacker with administrator login credentials. The attacker logs in and uses the dashboard to install a malicious plugin or modify theme files for persistent code execution.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – May 22, 2026

Unauthenticated privilege escalation in the Easy Elements for Elementor WordPress plugin through version 1.4.5 allows remote attackers to register administrator accounts by abusing an unchecked custom_meta parameter in the eel_register AJAX handler. The flaw lets attackers overwrite the wp_capabilities user meta after wp_insert_user() has assigned a safe role, granting full site takeover. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the CVSS vector's PR:L appears inconsistent with the description's explicit unauthenticated abuse path.

RemediationAI

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis - the available references point only to the vulnerable 1.4.5 source code on plugins.trac.wordpress.org, not to a fixed tag. Administrators should immediately deactivate and remove the Easy Elements for Elementor plugin until ThemeWant publishes a patched release; monitor https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/f1de4899-532a-4558-bff0-f4610bfdd49d for fix availability. If removal is not feasible, compensating controls include disabling WordPress user registration via Settings → General → Membership (this removes the exploit's precondition but breaks legitimate self-service signup), removing any page that embeds the plugin's Login/Register widget so the easy_elements_nonce is no longer published in the DOM, and adding a WAF rule that blocks POST requests to admin-ajax.php with action=eel_register containing custom_meta[wp_capabilities] (this may produce false positives for legitimate meta fields if the developer later legitimately uses custom_meta).

Affected VersionsENISA

Easy Elements for Elementor – Addons & Website Templates 0 ≤1.4.5

Affected Packages

euvd easy_elements_for_elementor_addons_website_templates no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The vulnerability lives in the plugin's Login/Register widget, specifically class.login-register.php in the easyel_handle_register() function bound to the wp_ajax_nopriv_eel_register hook (which by WordPress design accepts requests from unauthenticated users). After wp_insert_user() correctly assigns a default role, the handler iterates the attacker-controlled custom_meta POST array and calls update_user_meta() for every key/value pair with no allowlist or denylist. Because WordPress stores role assignments in the wp_capabilities user meta key, an attacker can overwrite the role post-creation. This maps to CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management). The affected CPE is cpe:2.3:a:themewant:easy_elements_for_elementor_-_addons_&_website_templates and the relevant source lines are referenced in plugins.trac.wordpress.org at lines 65 and 128 of class.login-register.php; the easy_elements_nonce required to call the handler is published into the page DOM by Enqueue.php line 200.

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Severity by source

Vendor (Wordfence) PRIMARY 8.8 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from Vendor (Wordfence) · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorVendor: Wordfence

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

The Easy Elements for Elementor - Addons & Website Templates plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.4.5 via the easyel_handle_register() function. This is due to the wp_ajax_nopriv_eel_register AJAX handler iterating the attacker-controlled custom_meta POST array and writing every supplied key-value pair to the newly created user's meta via update_user_meta() without any key whitelist or blocklist, allowing the wp_capabilities user meta key to be overwritten after wp_insert_user() has already assigned a safe role. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to register a new account with full administrator-level privileges by supplying custom_meta[wp_capabilities][administrator]=1. Exploitation requires that user registration is enabled on the site and that at least one page exposes the Login/Register widget, which publishes the required easy_elements_nonce into the page DOM where it can be retrieved by any unauthenticated visitor via a simple GET request.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Easy Elements for Elementor WordPress plugin (versions through 1.4.5) contains a privilege escalation vulnerability exploitable by low-privilege account holders that enables attackers to register unauthorized administrator accounts and achieve full site takeover. Affected WordPress deployments face immediate risk of complete compromise, including data theft, malware injection, and service disruption. No patch is currently available.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Plugin removal is the critical mitigation-no vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. If removal is not feasible: disable the eel_register AJAX handler via Web Application Firewall rules, restrict WordPress admin panel access by strict IP whitelist, implement real-time alerting on wp_capabilities metadata changes, and execute daily administrator account creation audits with timestamp correlation to deployment date.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 91% exploitable
Social Media
1
Sightings
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

44
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +44
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

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