CVE-2026-9018
HIGHEasy Elements for Elementor – Addons & Website Templates <= 1.4.5 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation via 'custom_meta' Parameter
Title source: cnaExploitation Summary
EIP tracks 1 public exploit for CVE-2026-9018. PoCs published by xxconi.
AI-analyzed exploit summary This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2026-9018, an unauthenticated privilege escalation vulnerability in the Easy Elements for Elementor plugin (≤ 1.4.5). The exploit leverages the `custom_meta` parameter to overwrite `wp_capabilities` and create an administrator account.
Description
The Easy Elements for Elementor – Addons & Website Templates plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.4.5 via the `easyel_handle_register()` function. This is due to the `wp_ajax_nopriv_eel_register` AJAX handler iterating the attacker-controlled `custom_meta` POST array and writing every supplied key-value pair to the newly created user's meta via `update_user_meta()` without any key whitelist or blocklist, allowing the `wp_capabilities` user meta key to be overwritten after `wp_insert_user()` has already assigned a safe role. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to register a new account with full administrator-level privileges by supplying `custom_meta[wp_capabilities][administrator]=1`. Exploitation requires that user registration is enabled on the site and that at least one page exposes the Login/Register widget, which publishes the required `easy_elements_nonce` into the page DOM where it can be retrieved by any unauthenticated visitor via a simple GET request.
Exploits (1)
This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2026-9018, an unauthenticated privilege escalation vulnerability in the Easy Elements for Elementor plugin (≤ 1.4.5). The exploit leverages the `custom_meta` parameter to overwrite `wp_capabilities` and create an administrator account.
References (5)
Scores
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H