Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain Subscriber account on target site
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DeliveryAuthenticate to WordPress
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ExploitInvoke vulnerable AIWU privilege-assignment function
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ExecutionEscalate role to Administrator
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ImpactFull site takeover
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Privilege assignment review
|
| Exploitation Conditions | The site must be running the AIWU (ai-copilot-content-generator) WordPress plugin at version 1.5.9 or earlier. Based on the 'Subscriber Privilege Escalation' classification and CWE-266 (Incorrect Privilege Assignment), the attacker needs an authenticated Subscriber-level account; this is the key limiting factor and is only trivially met if the WordPress site has open user self-registration enabled (the default 'Anyone can register' option). If registration is closed, the attacker must first obtain or be granted a Subscriber account, substantially raising the bar. Note the unresolved conflict: the input CVSS vector lists PR:N (unauthenticated), which contradicts the Subscriber requirement - verify against the Patchstack advisory before treating this as fully unauthenticated. |
| Impact | The NVD-style CVSS base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) frames this as a remotely exploitable, unauthenticated, low-complexity flaw with total confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. However, there is a direct conflict between that vector and the vulnerability's own classification: the title states 'Subscriber Privilege Escalation' and the CWE is CWE-266 (Incorrect Privilege Assignment), both of which imply an attacker must already hold an authenticated low-privilege (Subscriber) account - which would be PR:L, not PR:N. This discrepancy should be verified with the Patchstack advisory; if a Subscriber account is genuinely required, the realistic score drops to roughly 8.8 and exploitation depends on whether the WordPress site permits user self-registration. No EPSS score, CISA KEV listing, or public POC was provided in the intelligence set, so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no evidence of active exploitation. Net assessment: a serious privilege-escalation bug worth prompt patching for sites running this plugin, but the raw 9.8 likely overstates the barrier to entry, and the absence of exploitation signals means this is not a confirmed in-the-wild priority - prioritize based on whether open registration is enabled. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker registers (or already holds) a low-privilege Subscriber account on a WordPress site running AIWU <= 1.5.9, then abuses the plugin's incorrect privilege assignment to elevate their role to Administrator. From there they control the site - installing malicious plugins, exfiltrating data, or defacing content. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis, and successful exploitation presupposes the ability to obtain a Subscriber account. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 10, 2026
Privilege escalation in the AIWU WordPress plugin (ai-copilot-content-generator) through version 1.5.9 lets a low-privileged Subscriber account elevate itself to a higher role, up to administrator, by abusing incorrect privilege assignment (CWE-266) in the plugin. Sites are fully exposed when the WordPress 'Anyone can register' option is enabled, since an attacker can self-provision the required Subscriber account; where registration is closed, the attacker must already hold or be granted such an account. Our independent assessment scores this as CVSS 9.8 with PR:L (Subscriber required), which conflicts with the supplied PR:N vector, so the unauthenticated framing should be verified against the Patchstack advisory; no public exploit identified at time of analysis, and no confirmed active exploitation (no CISA KEV listing).
RemediationAI
No vendor-released patched version is identified in the available data, so the immediate action is to deactivate and remove the AIWU (ai-copilot-content-generator) plugin from all WordPress sites until an updated release above 1.5.9 is published and independently confirmed - verify any fix against the Patchstack advisory at https://patchstack.com/database/wordpress/plugin/ai-copilot-content-generator/vulnerability/wordpress-aiwu-plugin-1-5-9-privilege-escalation-vulnerability?_s_id=cve rather than assuming the next version is patched. If the plugin cannot be removed, close the account-provisioning path that enables the attack: uncheck Settings > General > Membership 'Anyone can register' (side effect: legitimate self-service signup stops working), and consider setting the default new-user role to a role with no content access or disabling the Subscriber role entirely on high-value sites. Additionally, audit wp_users and wp_usermeta for accounts whose capabilities changed unexpectedly, force a password reset and session invalidation for any suspect administrator accounts, and, if a WAF is available, block or challenge requests to the plugin's AJAX/REST endpoints from users lacking elevated capabilities (trade-off: legitimate plugin functionality for non-admin users will break). Note that these are compensating controls only; the underlying CWE-266 flaw remains until the plugin is patched or removed.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
The vulnerable component is the WordPress plugin AIWU (slug ai-copilot-content-generator), an AI content-generation plugin published by vendor 'sergey' and identified in CPE as cpe:2.3:a:sergey:aiwu. The root-cause class is CWE-266, Incorrect Privilege Assignment: the plugin's own code path (typically an AJAX action or REST route registered with wp_ajax_* / register_rest_route) grants or writes elevated role/capability data without correctly validating the caller's capabilities - WordPress's current_user_can() / check_ajax_referer() protections are either missing or applied to the wrong capability, so any account that can reach the endpoint (in practice a Subscriber-authenticated session) can cause the plugin to upgrade that account. Because WordPress stores roles and capabilities in the wp_usermeta table (wp_capabilities / wp_user_roles), this class of bug converts a trivial low-privilege session into full site takeover and often into remote code execution via the theme/plugin editor, which is consistent with the C:H/I:H/A:H impact. The supplied CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) describes an unauthenticated flaw, whereas the 'Subscriber Privilege Escalation' classification and our assessment vector (PR:L) require an authenticated Subscriber; this discrepancy is the single most important technical uncertainty in the data set and should be resolved before treating the bug as fully pre-auth.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
A Subscriber account is required so PR:L rather than PR:N; network vector and low complexity hold, and escalation to admin yields full C:H/I:H/A:H.
Primary rating from Vendor (Patchstack).
CVSS VectorVendor: Patchstack
DescriptionCVE.org
Subscriber Privilege Escalation in AIWU <= 1.5.9 versions.
Executive ViewAI
The AIWU WordPress plugin (ai-copilot-content-generator) up to version 1.5.9 contains a privilege-escalation flaw that can allow a low-privileged Subscriber account to elevate itself to administrator, giving an attacker full control of the affected website. On any WordPress site with open self-registration enabled, an outside party can create the account the attack requires, so exposure is effectively open to anyone on the internet rather than limited to trusted insiders. With no vendor patch available, every organization running this plugin on a public-facing site should treat it as a candidate for immediate removal or disablement.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: deactivate or remove the AIWU plugin (ai-copilot-content-generator) through version 1.5.9; disable the WordPress 'Anyone can register' setting and require administrator approval for new accounts; audit and revoke any unauthorized role elevations; enforce least-privilege role assignment and limit administrator accounts; monitor and alert on role-change events; and apply WAF or virtual-patching rules to block role-elevation requests to the plugin's endpoints.
Threat Intelligence Overview
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.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.
Unauthenticated privilege escalation in the AIWU (AI Copilot Content Generator) WordPress plugin versions 1.5.6 and earl
Blind SQL injection in the Sergey "AIWU" ai-copilot-content-generator WordPress plugin (all versions through 1.5.4) allo
EUVD-2026-96534
GHSA-f2rq-v4f6-5f5j
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB