Is CVE-2026-86583 exploited in the wild?

No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-86583 being exploited in the wild.

How severe is CVE-2026-86583?

High severity, with a CVSS score of 8.8, published 23 September 2026.

Which products and versions are affected?

WordPress.org Import and export users and customers up to and including 2.4.17.

Is there a fix for CVE-2026-86583?

No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

How is CVE-2026-86583 attacked?

It is attacked over the network, in a web application.

Am I affected by CVE-2026-86583?

Check whether you run WordPress.org Import and export users and customers 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.

CVE-2026-86583: Import and export users and customers plugin privilege escalation

CVE-2026-86583 · Severity: high · CVSS 8.8 · Published 2026-09-23

A WordPress plugin that imports and exports user data contains a flaw in how it processes CSV files, allowing authenticated subscribers to gain administrator privileges. An attacker with a basic user account can manipulate their profile fields to trick the import process into granting them admin rights when a site administrator performs a migration. This requires the admin to enable specific import options, making it a significant risk for WordPress sites using this plugin.

Vendors: WordPress.org.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-86583 exploited in the wild?: No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-86583 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-86583?: High severity, with a CVSS score of 8.8, published 23 September 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?: WordPress.org Import and export users and customers up to and including 2.4.17.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-86583?: No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.
How is CVE-2026-86583 attacked?: It is attacked over the network, in a web application.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-86583?: Check whether you run WordPress.org Import and export users and customers 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.

Technical details

The plugin's CSV export uses NUL byte as the escape character (fputcsv) while the import uses backslash (SplFileObject::fgetcsv default), creating a parser mismatch. An authenticated attacker can craft values in display_name and nickname profile fields such that column alignment is disrupted during re-import, causing the role field to be populated with "administrator". Exploitation requires site admin to initiate export/import workflow with "Update existing users" and "Update roles for existing users" enabled.

Affected products

WordPress.org Import and export users and customers up to and including 2.4.17

Timeline

2026-09-23: disclosed

References

This page as Markdown. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link back.