# CVE-2026-96539: Ultimate Member privilege escalation in role assignment

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-96539-incorrect-privilege-assignment-vulnerability-in-ultimate-member  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-10-09. Updated: 2026-10-16  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-96539 · Severity: medium · CVSS 5.6 · Published 2026-10-09

Ultimate Member is a WordPress plugin that manages user registration and profiles. An incorrect privilege assignment vulnerability allows users to escalate their account permissions to administrator level, gaining full control of the website and access to sensitive data.

Technologies: [Ultimate Member](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/ultimate-member). Vendors: [Ultimate Member](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/ultimate-member).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-96539 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-96539 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-96539?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 5.6, published 9 October 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Ultimate Member through 2.13.1.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-96539?** 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-2026-96539 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-96539?** Check whether you run Ultimate Member 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

An incorrect privilege assignment vulnerability in Ultimate Member allows privilege escalation via improper role/capability assignment logic. The vulnerability affects Ultimate Member through version 2.13.1 and can be exploited by an authenticated attacker to elevate their user role, gaining unauthorized administrative access.

## Affected products

- Ultimate Member Ultimate Member through 2.13.1

## Timeline

- 2026-10-09: disclosed

## References

- [https://wordpress.org/plugins](https://wordpress.org/plugins)
- [https://patchstack.com/database/wordpress/plugin/ultimate-member/vulnerability/wordpress-ultimate-member-plugin-2-13-1-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-2?_s_id=cve](https://patchstack.com/database/wordpress/plugin/ultimate-member/vulnerability/wordpress-ultimate-member-plugin-2-13-1-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-2?_s_id=cve)

## Related threats

- [Ultimate Member plugin stored cross-site scripting in textarea field](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-116621-the-ultimate-member-user-profile-registration-login-member)
- [Ultimate Member plugin PHP object injection](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-115968-deserialization-of-untrusted-data-vulnerability-in-ultimate)
- [Ultimate Member WordPress plugin Stored XSS in user_url parameter](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-107625-the-ultimate-member-user-profile-registration-login-member)
- [Ultimate Member privilege escalation in user authorization](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-96451-authorization-bypass-through-user-controlled-key-vulnerability-in)
- [Ultimate Member WordPress plugin authorization bypass in member profile fields](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-93428-the-ultimate-member-user-profile-registration-login-member)