CVE-2026-5130 json
Debugger & Troubleshooter <= 1.3.2 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation to Administrator via Cookie Manipulation
published 2026-03-30 7 mo ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2026-17245
- cvss
- 8.8
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.4%
- EPSS 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 37%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
The Debugger & Troubleshooter plugin for WordPress was vulnerable to Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation in versions up to and including 1.3.2. This was due to the plugin accepting the wp_debug_troubleshoot_simulate_user cookie value directly as a user ID without any cryptographic validation or authorization checks. The cookie value was used to override the determine_current_user filter, which allowed unauthenticated attackers to impersonate any user by simply setting the cookie to their target user ID. This made it possible for unauthenticated attackers to gain administrator-level access and perform any privileged actions including creating new administrator accounts, modifying site content, installing plugins, or taking complete control of the WordPress site. The vulnerability was fixed in version 1.4.0 by implementing a cryptographic token-based validation system where only administrators can initiate user simulation, and the cookie contains a random 64-character token that must be validated against database-stored mappings rather than accepting arbitrary user IDs.
CISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
- Assessed
- 7 mo ago
Exploit prediction
0.43% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 37% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 8.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
Affected products
- jhimross Debugger & Troubleshooter
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-565 Reliance on Cookies without Validation and Integrity Checking
- Technology feeds
References
- wordfence.com /threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3e037931-870f-45eb-973c-0276911682ad?source=cve
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/debugger-troubleshooter/tags/1.3.2/debug-troubleshooter.php#L827
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/debugger-troubleshooter/tags/1.3.2/debug-troubleshooter.php#L849
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /changeset/3486202/debugger-troubleshooter/trunk/debug-troubleshooter.php
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2026-5130
- NVD CVE-2026-5130
Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.