CVE-2026-16635 HIGH

CVE-2026-16635: Pronamic Pay <= 10.1.0 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via Gravity Forms 'Update user role' Field

Vendor Pronamic
Product Pronamic Pay
Weakness CWE-269
Published August 1, 2026
Last update August 1, 2026

CVSS base score

8.8/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required Low
User interaction None
Confidentiality High
Integrity High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

What the vulnerability does

01Description

The Pronamic Pay plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 10.1.0 This is due to the `maybe_update_user_role()` function passing an attacker-controlled Gravity Forms field value (`$lead[$feed->user_role_field_id]`) directly into `WP_User::set_role()` without any allowlist validation, capability comparison, or permission check to constrain which roles can be assigned. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to escalate their own WordPress account to Administrator by tampering with the role field value in a form submission. Exploitation requires that an administrator has already configured a Pronamic Pay payment feed in Gravity Forms with the **Update User Role** option enabled and mapped to a form field; once that configuration is in place, no further preconditions exist to prevent an authenticated attacker from exploiting this vulnerability.

Explanation of Vulnerability in Simple Terms

02Summary

Pronamic Pay versions up to 10.1.0 contain a privilege management flaw that allows authenticated users with low-level access to read, modify, or delete sensitive data and disrupt service availability. An attacker with a standard user account can escalate their capabilities within the payment system without additional interaction. This affects confidentiality, integrity, and availability of payment processing.

What an attacker can do

03Attacker Capabilities

Read, modify, or delete sensitive payment data and disrupt service availability.

Potential impact on your site

04Site Impact

Payment data may be exposed, altered, or lost; service disruptions possible without admin action.

Conditions required to exploit

05Prerequisites

Attacker must have a low-privilege user account on the site.

Key dates

06Disclosure timeline

August 1, 2026 CVE published

Related vulnerabilities

08Related CVE