CVE-2026-86583 json
Import and export users and customers <= 2.4.17 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via CSV Escape-Character Mismatch in Export/Import Round Trip via display_name and nickname Profile Fields
published 2026-09-23 46 d ago modified 2026-09-24 45 d ago also EUVD-2026-85704
- cvss
- 8.8
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.5%
- EPSS 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 44%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
The Import and export users and customers plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.17 via the plugin's own export and re-import workflow. The vulnerability exists because the exporter writes CSV cells using fputcsv() with a NUL byte (\0) as the escape character, while the importer parses the same file using SplFileObject::fgetcsv() with only a single delimiter argument, causing PHP's default backslash escape character to be applied instead; because the export column layout places display_name immediately before the role column and nickname immediately after, an attacker can store crafted values in those two profile fields — saved by WordPress core via the standard profile page — such that the escape mismatch causes the parser to merge the display_name cell into the role field and rebalance the column count via nickname, yielding administrator as the parsed role for their own row when it reaches the import_user function's add_role function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access or above to escalate their privileges to Administrator. Exploitation requires a site administrator to trigger the plugin's documented export re-import migration with both "Update existing users" and "Update roles for existing users" set to "yes".
CISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
- Assessed
- 45 d ago
Exploit prediction
0.52% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 44% 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
- carazo Import and export users and customers
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-266 Incorrect Privilege Assignment
References
- wordfence.com /threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/5b0f3444-4c10-45ce-a00b-4ed6038b8846?source=cve
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/import-users-from-csv-with-meta/tags/2.4.17/classes/import.php#L888
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/import-users-from-csv-with-meta/tags/2.4.17/classes/import.php#L1356
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/import-users-from-csv-with-meta/tags/2.4.17/classes/batch_exporter.php#L459
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/import-users-from-csv-with-meta/tags/2.4.17/classes/import.php#L872
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/import-users-from-csv-with-meta/tags/2.4.17/classes/helper.php#L78
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /changeset/3687349/import-users-from-csv-with-meta
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2026-86583
- NVD CVE-2026-86583
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.