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Smart Manager EUVDEUVD-2026-31767

| CVE-2026-45216 HIGH
Incorrect Privilege Assignment (CWE-266)
2026-05-25 Patchstack GHSA-7mvm-5m6v-x45x
8.8
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Patchstack
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Register low-privilege WordPress account
  2. Delivery
    Authenticate to wp-admin
  3. Exploit
    Send crafted request to Smart Manager endpoint
  4. Execution
    Plugin assigns administrator capability
  5. Persist
    Install malicious plugin or web shell
  6. Impact
    Achieve full site takeover

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Privilege assignment review
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires (1) the target WordPress site to have the StoreApps Smart Manager plugin installed and active at version 8.85.0 or earlier, and (2) the attacker to hold a valid authenticated session at some non-zero privilege level (CVSS PR:L) - most realistically a self-registered subscriber or customer account on a WooCommerce store that permits open registration, or a compromised low-privilege staff account such as shop_manager/editor. No user interaction by a victim is required (UI:N), the attack is fully remote over HTTP(S) (AV:N), and exploitation is low-complexity (AC:L) with unchanged scope (S:U). Limiting factors are the PR:L authentication barrier (sites that disable user registration and have no other low-privilege accounts are not exposed to anonymous internet attackers), the need for the vulnerable plugin to actually be installed (it is a paid third-party WooCommerce add-on, not bundled with WordPress), and SSVC's assessment that the issue is not Automatable, suggesting per-target exploitation effort rather than mass scanning.

Impact

The signals are mixed and point to high theoretical impact but low immediate exploitation pressure. CVSS 3.1 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) indicates a network-reachable, low-complexity attack requiring some authentication (PR:L) with no user interaction and total CIA impact - consistent with an authenticated WordPress user abusing a plugin endpoint to gain admin. EPSS is only 0.04% (12th percentile) and CISA SSVC reports Exploitation: none, Automatable: no, Technical Impact: total, meaning while a successful exploit fully compromises the site, no widespread exploitation is observed and the attack does not appear easily automatable across targets. The vulnerability is not in CISA KEV, no PoC is referenced, and Patchstack is the sole reporter - so this is genuinely high-impact but currently low-likelihood, warranting prompt patching especially on multi-user stores (customer/subscriber registration enabled) where the PR:L barrier is trivial to satisfy.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A site permits customer or subscriber self-registration (common on WooCommerce stores); an attacker registers a low-privilege account, then sends a crafted authenticated request to a Smart Manager endpoint that updates user records or capabilities, promoting their own account to administrator. With admin rights, the attacker installs a malicious plugin or modifies theme files to achieve full site takeover and persistent backdoor access. No public exploit is identified at time of analysis, so this scenario is derived from the CWE-266 root cause and CVSS vector rather than a published PoC.

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 – Jun 08, 2026

Privilege escalation in the StoreApps Smart Manager WordPress plugin (versions up to and including 8.85.0) allows authenticated low-privilege users to elevate themselves to higher-privileged roles due to incorrect privilege assignment (CWE-266). The flaw was reported by Patchstack and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8, though there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and EPSS is very low at 0.04%. Affected WooCommerce stores running this plugin should treat this as a meaningful internal-risk issue because any subscriber, customer, or shop-manager account could be leveraged to seize administrator control.

RemediationAI

Upstream fix available per Patchstack advisory; a released patched version is not independently confirmed in the provided data, so administrators should upgrade Smart Manager to the latest release above 8.85.0 published by StoreApps and verify the version on the WordPress plugins page after update, consulting https://patchstack.com/database/wordpress/plugin/smart-manager-for-wp-e-commerce/vulnerability/wordpress-smart-manager-plugin-8-85-0-privilege-escalation-vulnerability for the exact fixed build. Until the patched version is applied, deactivate the Smart Manager plugin (this removes the bulk-management UI but does not break WooCommerce core functionality), or at minimum restrict access to wp-admin and the plugin's AJAX/REST endpoints via a WAF rule or .htaccess IP allowlist so that only trusted administrator IPs can reach them - note this breaks legitimate use by remote staff. Additionally, audit existing user accounts for unexpected role changes (especially recent promotions to administrator or shop_manager) and rotate credentials for any account whose role cannot be explained, and consider temporarily disabling open user registration to remove the PR:L precondition.

Affected VersionsENISA

Smart Manager n/a ≤8.85.0

Affected Packages

euvd smart_manager 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

Smart Manager (sold by StoreApps as 'Smart Manager for WP & WooCommerce', CPE cpe:2.3:a:storeapps:smart_manager) is a WordPress plugin that provides a spreadsheet-style admin dashboard for bulk editing posts, products, orders, users and other WordPress entities. The vulnerability falls under CWE-266 (Incorrect Privilege Assignment), meaning the plugin grants a user a privilege or capability they should not be entitled to - typically because a capability check (current_user_can) is missing, an AJAX/REST endpoint does not enforce the expected role, or user-supplied role/capability data is trusted when updating user objects. Because Smart Manager exposes write operations across WordPress core object types including the users table, a flaw in its role-handling logic can be turned directly into account-role manipulation.

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Severity by source

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

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

CVSS VectorVendor: Patchstack

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

DescriptionCVE.org

Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability in StoreApps Smart Manager allows Privilege Escalation.

This issue affects Smart Manager: from n/a through 8.85.0.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

The StoreApps Smart Manager WordPress plugin (versions ≤8.85.0) contains a privilege escalation vulnerability allowing any authenticated low-privilege user-such as shop managers or subscribers-to elevate to administrator control. WooCommerce merchants using this plugin face direct internal-risk exposure; any compromised or malicious low-privilege account can seize full store administration without additional exploitation steps. This vulnerability warrants immediate assessment and remediation given the path to complete administrative takeover.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: immediately restrict or audit creation of low-privilege user accounts; disable the plugin pending patch availability; implement access controls and logging on administrative role assignments; enforce multi-factor authentication on all administrative accounts to limit blast radius if escalation occurs.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 88% exploitable
Data Quality
7 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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