ACF Extended front-end forms can permit unauthenticated Administrator takeover
ACF Extended before 0.9.2.7 does not verify authorization to edit the user targeted by a front-end form's update-user action, except when the submitted role itself is Administrator or super_admin. If a public form is configured to target an existing Administrator and maps the password from a visitor-controlled field, an unauthenticated visitor can replace that Administrator's password and take over the account. The default target is the submitting user, so exploitation requires this non-default form configuration.
- Component
- Advanced Custom Fields: Extended
- Plugin slug
acf-extended- Affected
- < 0.9.2.7
- Safe version
0.9.2.7- Published
- Sep 02, 2026
This CVE was published Sep 02, 2026 and is one of 7 known issues for this plugin.
Update, patch or deactivate.
Update to ACF Extended 0.9.2.7 or later. Until updated, disable public update-user forms that can target another account, reset affected administrator credentials, invalidate sessions, and audit account changes.
A safe version is available, so updating to that version or later is the preferred remediation. If an immediate update is not practical, consider a targeted application patch or temporarily restricting the affected functionality.
Deactivate only when warranted by your risk profile, or when advised by your hosting provider in the limited circumstances where the vulnerability cannot otherwise be mitigated. If you’re unsure which action is appropriate, contact Fused or your hosting provider for guidance.
Technical description
The Advanced Custom Fields: Extended WordPress plugin before 0.9.2.7 does not verify that the requester is authorized to edit the targeted user account in the update-user action of its front-end Forms module; it only checks a capability when the submitted role is administrator or super_admin. On a site that exposes a publicly reachable front-end form whose user-update action targets an existing administrator (a fixed target, or one mapped to a visitor-submitted field) and maps the password to a visitor-submitted field, an unauthenticated visitor can overwrite that administrator's password and take over the account. The default target is the submitting user, so exploitation depends on the form being configured to target another account.
CVE / CNA vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H