CVE-2026-9018
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.
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
Affected products
2- Range: <=1.4.5
Patches
Vulnerability mechanics
References
5- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-elements/tags/1.4.5/includes/Utils/Enqueue.phpnvd
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-elements/tags/1.4.5/widgets/login-register/class.login-register.phpnvd
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-elements/tags/1.4.5/widgets/login-register/class.login-register.phpnvd
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-elements/tags/1.4.5/widgets/login-register/class.login-register.phpnvd
- www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/f1de4899-532a-4558-bff0-f4610bfdd49dnvd
News mentions
1- Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (May 18, 2026 to May 24, 2026)Wordfence Blog · May 28, 2026