# CVE-2026-115251: Duplicator WordPress plugin privilege escalation in upgrade routine

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-115251-the-duplicator-wordpress-plugin-before-5-0-0-does-not-restrict  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-10-25. Updated: 2026-10-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-115251 · Severity: info · Published 2026-10-25

Duplicator, a WordPress plugin used to migrate and backup WordPress sites, fails to properly authorize users before allowing them to trigger a one-click upgrade routine. A site administrator on a child site in a WordPress multisite network can exploit this to upload and execute arbitrary PHP code in the network-wide plugin directory, potentially compromising the entire network.

Technologies: [Duplicator](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/duplicator). Vendors: [Duplicator](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/duplicator).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-115251 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-115251 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-115251?** Informational severity, published 25 October 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Duplicator before 5.0.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-115251?** Yes: fixed in 5.0.0. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-115251 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-115251?** Check whether you run Duplicator at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- Fixed in 5.0.0

## Technical details

The vulnerability is an authorization bypass (CWE-269) in the one-click upgrade functionality that can be triggered by a multisite subsite administrator without proper capability checks. An attacker with subsite admin privileges can call the upgrade routine and execute arbitrary PHP in the shared plugin directory, effectively escalating to network-wide code execution on a multisite installation. The issue was patched in version 5.0.0.

## Affected products

- Duplicator Duplicator before 5.0.0

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23: disclosed
- 2026-10-25: advisory

## References

- [https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/c4512e96-6d96-474e-90c0-ad784eb1c145/](https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/c4512e96-6d96-474e-90c0-ad784eb1c145/)

## Related threats

- [Duplicator WordPress plugin SQL injection via charset rewrite](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-115262-the-duplicator-wordpress-plugin-before-5-1-0-duplicator-pro)
- [Duplicator WordPress plugin reflected XSS via logname parameter](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-112243-the-duplicator-wordpress-plugin-before-5-1-0-duplicator-pro)
- [Duplicator and Duplicator Pro PHP Object Injection](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-82814-the-duplicator-and-duplicator-pro-plugins-for-wordpress-are)