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

{
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2",
  "cveMetadata": {
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-86583",
    "assignerOrgId": "b15e7b5b-3da4-40ae-a43c-f7aa60e62599",
    "assignerShortName": "Wordfence",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-09-23T21:27:34.729Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-09-08T06:53:28.117Z",
    "datePublished": "2026-09-23T21:27:34.729Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "containers": {
    "cna": {
      "providerMetadata": {
        "orgId": "b15e7b5b-3da4-40ae-a43c-f7aa60e62599",
        "shortName": "Wordfence",
        "dateUpdated": "2026-09-23T21:27:34.729Z"
      },
      "title": "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",
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "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\"."
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "vendor": "carazo",
          "product": "Import and export users and customers",
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "versions": [
            {
              "version": "0",
              "status": "affected",
              "versionType": "semver",
              "lessThanOrEqual": "2.4.17"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "description": "CWE-266 Incorrect Privilege Assignment",
              "cweId": "CWE-266",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "references": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/5b0f3444-4c10-45ce-a00b-4ed6038b8846?source=cve"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/import-users-from-csv-with-meta/tags/2.4.17/classes/import.php#L888"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/import-users-from-csv-with-meta/tags/2.4.17/classes/import.php#L1356"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/import-users-from-csv-with-meta/tags/2.4.17/classes/batch_exporter.php#L459"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/import-users-from-csv-with-meta/tags/2.4.17/classes/import.php#L872"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/import-users-from-csv-with-meta/tags/2.4.17/classes/helper.php#L78"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3687349/import-users-from-csv-with-meta"
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV3_1": {
            "version": "3.1",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
            "baseScore": 8.8,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH"
          }
        }
      ],
      "timeline": [
        {
          "time": "2026-09-08T07:09:00.000Z",
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "Vendor Notified"
        },
        {
          "time": "2026-09-23T09:27:14.000Z",
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "Disclosed"
        }
      ],
      "credits": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "khanhnv",
          "type": "finder"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}