CVE-2026-9842
Severity CVSS v4.0:
Pending analysis
Type:
CWE-269
Improper Privilege Management
Publication date:
08/07/2026
Last modified:
08/07/2026
Description
The Backstage - Customizer Demo Access plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.4.2. This is due to the plugin assigning the `manage_options` capability to the `backstage_customizer_user` demo role, which is more permissive than necessary for Customizer-only demo access. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to navigate beyond the Customizer and update arbitrary WordPress options such as `default_role`, leading to privilege escalation.
Impact
Base Score 3.x
7.50
Severity 3.x
HIGH
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/backstage/tags/1.4.2/includes/class-Backstage.php#L154
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/backstage/tags/1.4.2/includes/class-Backstage.php#L348
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/5bcf1f02-0946-4e96-a81b-00c7c48d64b3?source=cve



