---
title: "CVE-2026-77203: WordPress Groups – Memberships and Access Control - Privilege Escalation"
description: "WordPress Groups – Memberships and Access Control plugin <= 4.6.0 contains a privilege escalation caused by improper capability checks in groups_join() using ambient post author instead of authenticated user, letting authenticated attackers escalate privileges to Administrator by self-enrolling in privileged groups, exploit requires supplying an Administrator-authored post ID."
url: https://panop.io/threat-heartbeat/CVE-2026-77203/
---

# CVE-2026-77203 WordPress Groups – Memberships and Access Control - Privilege Escalation

WordPress Groups – Memberships and Access Control plugin <= 4.6.0 contains a privilege escalation caused by improper capability checks in groups\_join() using ambient post author instead of authenticated user, letting authenticated attackers escalate privileges to Administrator by self-enrolling in privileged groups, exploit requires supplying an Administrator-authored post ID.

CVSS base score 8.8 /10

High

CISA KEV

Not listed

Public exploit

None known

Authentication

Required

EPSS

0.33% chance of exploitation in 30 days

[View the NVD record ↗](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-77203)

## Details

Type

Privilege Escalation

Impact

Privilege Escalation

CVSS vector

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

Published

26 September 2026

Updated

15 October 2026

Weakness

[CWE-269](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/269.html)

## Vendor fix

Update to a version later than 4.6.0 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-2026-77203](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-77203)
- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groups/tags/4.5.0/lib/wp/class-groups-wordpress.php#L248](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groups/tags/4.5.0/lib/wp/class-groups-wordpress.php#L248)
- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3693123/groups](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3693123/groups)
- [https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/e86dddc9-c1d3-426b-8ec7-2e56dc3c2379?source=cve](https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/e86dddc9-c1d3-426b-8ec7-2e56dc3c2379?source=cve)
- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groups/tags/4.5.0/lib/views/class-groups-shortcodes.php#L463](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groups/tags/4.5.0/lib/views/class-groups-shortcodes.php#L463)
- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groups/tags/4.5.0/lib/views/class-groups-shortcodes.php#L521](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groups/tags/4.5.0/lib/views/class-groups-shortcodes.php#L521)
- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groups/tags/4.5.0/lib/views/class-groups-shortcodes.php#L586](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groups/tags/4.5.0/lib/views/class-groups-shortcodes.php#L586)
- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groups/tags/4.5.0/lib/views/class-groups-shortcodes.php#L624](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/groups/tags/4.5.0/lib/views/class-groups-shortcodes.php#L624)

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## 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

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