--- title: "CVE-2026-120538: Easy Digital Downloads - Authentication Bypass" description: "Easy Digital Downloads WordPress plugin <= 3.7.2 contains an authentication bypass caused by trusting guest checkout email as proof of identity, letting unauthenticated attackers take over administrator accounts via PayPal checkout flows." url: https://panop.io/threat-heartbeat/CVE-2026-120538/ --- # CVE-2026-120538 Easy Digital Downloads - Authentication Bypass Easy Digital Downloads WordPress plugin <= 3.7.2 contains an authentication bypass caused by trusting guest checkout email as proof of identity, letting unauthenticated attackers take over administrator accounts via PayPal checkout flows. CVSS base score 8.1 /10 High CISA KEV Not listed Public exploit None known Authentication Not required [View the NVD record ↗](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-120538) ## Details Type Authentication Bypass Impact Privilege Escalation CVSS vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Published 3 November 2026 Updated 3 November 2026 Weakness [CWE-287](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/287.html) ## Vendor fix Update to a version later than 3.7.2 or the latest available version. Patching closes this CVE. It does not tell you which of your systems run the affected version, or what else is exposed alongside them. ## References - [https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-120538](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-120538) - [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/src/Gateways/PayPal/V3/PurchaseUser.php#L174](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/src/Gateways/PayPal/V3/PurchaseUser.php#L174) - [https://wordpress.org/plugins/easy-digital-downloads/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/easy-digital-downloads/) - [https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/f4250328-6d6c-4eb1-9ef2-334774c1d337?source=cve](https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/f4250328-6d6c-4eb1-9ef2-334774c1d337?source=cve) - [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/includes/customers/customer-actions.php#L49](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/includes/customers/customer-actions.php#L49) - [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/includes/gateways/paypal/checkout-actions.php#L681](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/includes/gateways/paypal/checkout-actions.php#L681) - [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/includes/orders/functions/orders.php#L798](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/includes/orders/functions/orders.php#L798) - [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/includes/user-functions.php#L428](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/includes/user-functions.php#L428) [← All CVEs](https://panop.io/threat-heartbeat/) ## What this record can't tell you - Whether you run the affected software, and where - Whether an attacker can actually reach and exploit it - The misconfigurations that never get a CVE number - What it would cost the business, ranked into what to fix first Panop answers these inside your environment, for this CVE and every other finding. [Book a demo](https://panop.io/demo)